my impending status as roadkill
In Salt Lake City, when I wanted to cross a busy street at a crosswalk, I would stand by the crosswalk and the cars would see me, start slowing down when they were a reasonable distance from the crosswalk, stop, and I could cross. In DC, I stand by the crosswalk, and the cars show no sign of slowing down, so I think “okay, I’ll just wait I guess” but then when the cars are right next to the crosswalk, they slam on their brakes and make rude gestures.
East Coast people, what is the norm here? Why am I expected to start crossing the street when the cars are going full speed and just trust that of course they see me and of course they’ll slow down in the nick of time?
plain-dealing-villain said: In Boston they don’t stop at crosswalks unless there’s a signal
How do people in Boston cross the street without dying?
(I’m talking about unprotected crosswalks.)
You look the driver right in the eye and dare them to run you over and then they slow down.
The comments on this post have elevated my blood pressure. I am never going to Boston. I already know what I’m going to do after grad school–move to a tiny town in the Midwest. I hope the streets are easy to cross in Nebraska.
I’m a Bostonian, and I feel like I have an impending status as roadkill in DC. For one thing, I am quite confident that I used to be more careful before jaywalking across six-lane highways*. At night. In the rain. Because in Boston, we don’t do six lane highways: we do 2-4 lane streets, and/or provide ample viable ways for pedestrians to cross safely.
In Boston the cars move a lot slower. You get hit by a bus and it hurts but then you get up. This happened to multiple friends, and sometimes it made them more cautious.
In Boston the crosswalks allow you to cross at a decent pace in a decent fashion. Where I live in N. Va**, I have to wait a long time for the light to allow pedestrians, and they use this special trick where, to cross the road legally, I would have to cross three crosswalks, waiting a while at each of them.
Conclusion: Boston is significantly safer than DC for pedestrians.
*You can call them streets all you like. When it has six lanes, it’s a highway.
**Yes, I’ve been playing Overwatch recently.