It is evident that the rising rate of road fatalities has done little to make errant drivers do an evaluation of the way they use the roadways. One would think that these senseless accidents will tug at the mental faculties of careless drivers, thus creating a behaviour change; but that is like trying to catch the tail of a dream. Something is decadently wrong with the way our drivers use the roadways. The level of impatience demonstrated by drivers generally is abysmal. It seems as though we are always in a hurry and this has nothing to do with the Christmas season, not to say that the season should be a pretext for drivers to act irresponsibly. In the event of  traffic congestion and there are other  vehicles in front which are  impassable, rest assured that your ear drums will be bombarded with the sound of blaring horns from those trailing.

And there is no relenting at the traffic lights. As a matter of fact, it gets worse there. At least four seconds prior to the light changing to green, some vehicles are already in motion. And drivers who seemingly slip into a slumber momentarily at the change-over are sometimes in receipt of profanity and tongue lashing.

However, what I have observed and found most appalling are drivers’  ignorance or blatant disregard for the pedestrian sign. It is my considered opinion that a myriad of drivers do not fathom the significance of the pedestrian sign. The manner in which some drivers treat pedestrians on the sign is shockingly contemptuous and highly reprehensible.

Notwithstanding this, my traffic knowledge tells me that once a pedestrian is poised on or against the sign, that person is ready to cross. Unfortunately, many drivers are seemingly oblivious to the pedestrians’ presence and simply proceed at break-neck speed along their way. Hence, if the pedestrian wishes to cross, though on the pedestrian sign, he or she is forced into waiting until the flow of traffic reduces significantly, cross at his own risk or proceed at the discretion of a considerate driver. And, invariably, some who permit pedestrians to cross feel as though they are doing the pedestrians a favour.     

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped at a pedestrian sign in the vicinity of Le Penitence to allow a school child to cross. I had given the drivers behind me ample notice via hazard light and hand signal that I was stopping; they followed suit. However, as the child was approaching the other side of the crossing, a motorcyclist sped past the cars stopped at the sign and almost collided with the child. Thankfully, there was no collision because my intuition tells me that that child would not have been alive today, and this was confirmed when I glanced into my rear view mirror and saw the driver behind me hold his head in anguish.

I have seen pedestrians literally sprint across the sign. Why should this be?  Pedestrians should not have to scurry across the pedestrian sign nor be apprehensive in doing so once they would have signalled their intention in advance to cross. That is the reason why pedestrian signs are painted, for the benefit of  pedestrians to cross the road.

Conversely, I have been fortunate to see drivers in other countries display a high level of respect for the pedestrian sign.  Once pedestrians congregate at the sign, there is almost an abrupt stop of vehicular traffic to allow pedestrians free movement. For me, it was a culture shock to see how civil, couth, respectful and responsible these drivers discharge their duties on the roadways.     

I am fearful that if these errant drivers are not admonished or penalized, something catastrophic will happen at one of those signs in the near future. I am therefore exhorting the police to look out for this infraction as well. If a few of those drivers are made to suffer, we might just see some changes.