There are drivers that don't check for pedestrians. Then there are pedestrians who jaywalk blithely like Mary Poppins, sometimes in the dark, sometimes in black wear. In both cases, the driver is generally at fault.
IMO, pedestrians are obligated to have some sense of self-preservation, even though in theory drivers should fully accommodate all pedestrian antics. Is it really too much to ask for pedestrians to look left before crossing?
>Is it really too much to ask for pedestrians to look left before crossing?
Yes, is that even a real question? A pedestrian with a walk signal should be able to cross without looking for traffic. They shouldn't need to anticipate that the car approaching a red light is going to just roll into the crosswalk without stopping.
I am extremely wary of drivers. Years ago--before cell phones were ubiquitous--I saw a car around here start to pull out to a fire truck, one that had its lights and sirens goin.
Having said that, pedestrian wariness can carry one only so far.
If a child is old enough to be crossing the street without an adult present (holding their hand), then they're old enough to be looking both ways before crossing.
That was a kindergarten lesson, and in my experience, those kids tend to be better about it than most people are when they're older.
If they're not going to do that, what is stopping them from just wandering into a road nowhere near a traffic light anyway?
My own child is a runner and until she was six or so it was honestly terrifying to go outside with her. I want to live somewhere letting go of a four year old's hand isn't a death sentence. Incidentally this is what Anne hidalgo says she wants for Paris and it seems like a useful heuristic.
IMO, pedestrians are obligated to have some sense of self-preservation, even though in theory drivers should fully accommodate all pedestrian antics. Is it really too much to ask for pedestrians to look left before crossing?