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Why pedestrians see red when lights turn green
By Peter Zhang |
August 11, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SEVERAL deadly traffic accidents were highlighted in the media recently. All of them involved young drivers (in their twenties), luxurious cars, speeding and sadly, killing pedestrians crossing the street at a zebra crossing.
Many of the reports and commentaries have focused on the luxurious cars and the young drivers. But I have been thinking more about the zebra crossing.This is largely due to the woeful experiences I always have at zebra crossings.
I remember when I came back from studying abroad many years ago, I was baffled by the question of how to cross a busy street in downtown Shanghai.
Every time, I stood at a zebra crossing waiting for a green light. But when the green light was finally on, I still couldn't cross the street because numerous right-turning cars kept driving on in front of me and blocking the pedestrian crossing. So, I usually had to wait for several lights to make a crossing. Some friends told me that it was silly for me to rigidly follow the traffic rules, because everyone else did not.
"But, even out of politeness, the drivers should let the pedestrians pass first at a zebra crossing and particularly when the green light is on," I argued.
"Sure, but who cares?" said one friend.
Today, I still feel nervous whenever I'm walking a zebra crossing for fear that some reckless driver might knock me over.
A few years ago, I became bold enough to gain a driver's license and began to drive a car myself.
Every time, when I approach a zebra crossing, I will naturally slow down and wait for pedestrians to cross the street first.
But, more often than not, the drivers behind me would become impatient and started to honk. Some even pulled up from behind me, overtook my car from the wrong side and gunned across the zebra crossing.
In their eyes, I must be either a tyro or a fool. Once, a driver became irritated because of me waiting in front of a zebra crossing. So, when he pulled his car side by side with my car, he took the time to lower the window and give me the finger.
The zebra crossing was designed to facilitate the traffic and keep the pedestrians safe. But today, it has become a predicament for most pedestrians and for a few drivers like me.
So, the zebra crossing always reminds me of what Shakespeare writes in Macbeth:
"I am in this earthly world, where to do harm
Is often laudable, to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly."
Many of the reports and commentaries have focused on the luxurious cars and the young drivers. But I have been thinking more about the zebra crossing.This is largely due to the woeful experiences I always have at zebra crossings.
I remember when I came back from studying abroad many years ago, I was baffled by the question of how to cross a busy street in downtown Shanghai.
Every time, I stood at a zebra crossing waiting for a green light. But when the green light was finally on, I still couldn't cross the street because numerous right-turning cars kept driving on in front of me and blocking the pedestrian crossing. So, I usually had to wait for several lights to make a crossing. Some friends told me that it was silly for me to rigidly follow the traffic rules, because everyone else did not.
"But, even out of politeness, the drivers should let the pedestrians pass first at a zebra crossing and particularly when the green light is on," I argued.
"Sure, but who cares?" said one friend.
Today, I still feel nervous whenever I'm walking a zebra crossing for fear that some reckless driver might knock me over.
A few years ago, I became bold enough to gain a driver's license and began to drive a car myself.
Every time, when I approach a zebra crossing, I will naturally slow down and wait for pedestrians to cross the street first.
But, more often than not, the drivers behind me would become impatient and started to honk. Some even pulled up from behind me, overtook my car from the wrong side and gunned across the zebra crossing.
In their eyes, I must be either a tyro or a fool. Once, a driver became irritated because of me waiting in front of a zebra crossing. So, when he pulled his car side by side with my car, he took the time to lower the window and give me the finger.
The zebra crossing was designed to facilitate the traffic and keep the pedestrians safe. But today, it has become a predicament for most pedestrians and for a few drivers like me.
So, the zebra crossing always reminds me of what Shakespeare writes in Macbeth:
"I am in this earthly world, where to do harm
Is often laudable, to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly."
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