Today in the USA, schools across the country have been celebrating Walk to School day. In honor of said day, and because I walk my kidlets to school almost every school day, I am writing today's blog entry in the format of a letter to irate motorists in regards to pedestrians.
Dear Irate Motorists,
Hi. How are you? I'm presuming you are fine because I can hear you shouting loudly at the crossing guard, my kidlets and I, and just about every pedestrian nearby. Good for you for having full lung capacity. Now let's chat.
I know you like your cell phone, text messaging capabilities, breakfast, coffee, hairbrush, makeup, radio, and just about anything else you can reach from your position in the driver's seat. I know you're probably running late to work or to drop off your kid at school, but do us all a favor. If you are driving your car, please just drive your car. Believe it or not, it's a complicated piece of machinery that weighs a goodly number of pounds. Your car can do way more damage than you could ever imagine, and if you fail to put your full attention into driving, you might find out firsthand just how horrific it could be.
Like I tell my kidlets, in an argument between a car and a person, can you guess who wins? The car does. It does not matter if pedestrians have the right of way if the driver of a car is distracted (or multi-tasking, whichever you choose to call it) and a person gets hit. And the amazing thing about cell phones these days is that they can record whether you were making or receiving a phone call or text message at the moment of impact. If you hit a pedestrian while fiddling with such a device, the powers that be can prove it, and jail time, loss of license, and other repercussions become very real possibilities. Oh, and if you panic and try to run like the wind, they also will get you for leaving the scene of an accident.
Did you happen to see that crossing guard in the middle of the street holding up his or her red stop sign? That red sign means "stop," not "go faster." I see people like you driving past crossing guards almost every day. It does not matter that the rest of the traffic has stopped, that the crossing guard is in the middle of the street stopping everybody else behind you. It doesn't seem to faze you that children are still in the crosswalk on their way to the opposing curb. You come really, really close to hitting children as they attempt to get safely to school. What if a child tripped and fell and did not clear the road before you entered it? You're willing to kill a child, ruin that child's family's lives in addition to your own, go to jail, get sued, etc. all rather than waiting a minute for the crossing guard to allow traffic to start back up again? And in case you think you'd get off scott-free for fleeing that scene, be assured that many school age children have cell phones that can quickly snap a picture of your car as it flees. It's nice to know that will make it even easier for the cops to hunt you down.
I know it is an inconvenience having to stop and wait for pedestrians in crosswalks, especially immediately before and after school hours. Traffic gets backed up, tempers run rampant, and you have somewhere important to be instead of waiting for those dang kids who keep dragging their feet instead of picking up the pace. You think it's an inconvenience waiting for them? Well, it's even more obnoxious if you hit one of them with your car. It's all this paperwork, police reports, lawyer fees, court dates, and potentially getting sued for every last cent you own. Realistically speaking, do you think you can finance your own child's college education or your retirement if you are in jail and unable to work or if you'd had to fork over your savings account and house to the family of your victim?
I know you're getting tired of hearing all of this. I can sense your face getting redder and redder by the moment. But while you are contemplating the best way of exploding at me for having the audacity to tell you that you are doing something wrong, I shall remind you that teaching my children four-letter expletives is not the way to go. You've been caught doing something wrong, so at least have the decency to not try and blame the pedestrians because you did not want to stop at the stop sign and almost mowed down people in the crosswalk in front of you...rather, behind you. (See that white line on the ground by the stop sign? That's where you're supposed to stop. Blocking the crosswalk is a bad thing, and the police might one day call you on it.) The children you cuss out on the streets today will be the ones running your nursing home someday. Don't you want to teach them patience, kindness, and caring? Or do you want them treating you the same way when you are unable to fend for yourself?
I see plenty of courteous drivers every day. They pay attention to driving, without getting distracted by gadgets, food, and other things in the car. They stop at stop signs and red lights. They wait patiently while crossing guards get children across the road. If they accidentally do something wrong, they apologize and try to fix it. No one is a perfect driver. We all make mistakes, but we can do our best to limit them.
Thank you for your time. Now please just take a deep breath before you start driving again. You don't want me to get started on the topic of road rage.
Sincerely,
Murphy Brawn, A.K.A. Dragon
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