I grew up in the U.S., where we drive on the right. Then I went to the Bahamas, where they don’t. Then I went to cross the street from my hotel to the beach. I looked to my left like any normal person would and stepped off the curb, realizing as I was doing it that I was making a potentially fatal mistake, and did a little dance-turn move back up onto the curb as a bizarro-looking Nissan moved through the space I had occupied milliseconds before. It was that close.
So many of these make me angry. I can’t be the only one.
I’m sure there’s a reel of similar events that resulted in lots of blood in the frame. I prefer not to see that reel.
Finally, an interesting video made by amateur skateboarders.
How about nearly being hit by a rocket in Ukraine?
I like the nonchalant mirror adjustment at 3:00.
I was walking in midtown Manhattan one day when I came upon a gaggle of tourists blocking the whole sidewalk. Without breaking stride I stepped into the street to walk around them. As soon as my foot hit the street, a bus coming from behind whooshed by me within a couple of inches. Another foot out into the street and I would have been toast. Moral of the story: don’t block the damn sidewalks, tourists!
On my arrival in Amsterdam as a naive 20 year old backpacker I stepped out of the train station. Being a tourist and a bit overwhelmed, I immediately stepped in front of a trolley bus and was about 5 millimeters from death.
A couple of months of living there later I must have seen the exact same thing happen at least once a day to new tourists coming out of the station. I wonder what the kill rate is?
When Darwinism does not work.
In London, many of the curb cuts at crosswalks have “LOOK RIGHT” or “LOOK LEFT” stenciled on them. As a USA’ian, I have been ever so grateful for this more than a couple of times.
I think the actual moral is “when you are forced from the realm of the pedestrian into the the domain of the motorcar for whatever reason your life is at risk so always check it’s safe first.”, sadly I think that being a considerate pedestrian is best taught by shouting “GET OUT OF MY fave swearwordING WAY YOU second fave swearwordS!” or the classic “third fave swearwordING MOVE!”
Also remember when crossing the road through still traffic that motorbikes often zoom along unaffected in speed but much more obscured from view. A lady was struck by a motorbike this way outside my workplace not long ago, the ambulances set up screens and were doing the life saving operations and whatnot in the street because I assume they were not prepared to move her at all. I don’t know what the outcome was but the motorcyclist was sat in the back of a nearby police car for the duration. Always check for motorbikes, people!
One more bit of road safety hoohah- check both ways when crossing a one way street. I know a part of your brain might say “Cars only come from that direction” but I have seen too many dickheads driving the wrong way down these roads and at over double the speed limit 'cos if they do it really quick like, they’ll be breaking the law for less time so it’s less bad, right? Right?
Safety dance.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
