Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › Lady in Maxima Learn the Law
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September 1, 2009 at 12:04 am #592132
JimmyGMemberSo there I was halfway across California Ave (at SW Juneau) this afternoon with the nice drivers going s/bound stopped for me when the lady in the Nissan Maxima going n/bound carrying on quite the conversation with her passenger had a very shocked look on her face to see the me crossing there.
I was by this time standing in the two way turn lane and she couldn’t stop due to her not paying attention to what was going on around her. No biggee, a fair amount of cars don’t stop for peds crossing California, I see it all the time.
But imagine my surprise when I got closer to SW Findlay and she was parking. She then proceeded to yell across the street at me to “use the crosswalk”. I told her every intersection was a legal crosswalk which seemed to take a bit of wind out of her sails but not enough for her to quit talking.
I took this opportunity to snap a photo of her and her car. So if anyone has a female Nissan Maxima driving neighbor please let me know and I’ll mail her a copy of the driver’s guide for Washington state.
I’m consistently amazed at the level of ignorance when it comes to not knowing that a crosswalk doesn’t only exist when there’s little white zebra stripes across the street. Unless signed otherwise, every intersection is a crosswalk.
Thank you for your time, I hope just one person reads this and learns the law.
September 1, 2009 at 12:31 am #675976
IrukandjiParticipantI was on California the other day heading north and saw a young woman waiting to cross across the street from West to East.
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As I waited for her to cross, eleven southbound cars zipped on by. Also, two motorcyclists annoyed at their long wait behind me chose to go around me on either side rather than wait until the ped made her crossing. One of them came within about two feet of the ped when she finally got a chance to cross.
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Jerks.
September 1, 2009 at 1:16 am #675977
JustSarahParticipantIrukandji, that sounds like what I deal with daily. Depending on what bus I take, I often have to wait several minutes to cross from the west side of California to the east side (this is around Willow). Doesn’t matter if I’m standing in the bike lane; cars just don’t stop for me. I’ve been flipped off, too – apparently my patiently waiting to cross an intersection makes some people angry.
September 1, 2009 at 2:13 am #675978
KevinParticipantI agree that California is bad, but go try and cross 35th sometime. NO one will stop for you. I have been honked at, flipped off, you name it. There is a reason some folks refer to it as “I-35”
September 1, 2009 at 2:45 am #675979
GenHillOneParticipantHow hard would it be to give everyone a half-piece of paper when they renew their tabs. I understand that by mail it might be labor-intensive to sort out city residents, but couldn’t they at least be at the Seattle licensing offices? Maybe something with the top five offenses/”misunderstood” laws – with corners & crosswalks being at the top of the list? Yes, a lot of jerks, but also a lot of people who just don’t believe that to be the law (and will argue about it…hmmm, maybe that puts them in the former category anyway).
September 1, 2009 at 3:28 am #675980
JenVMemberphew! thought this was me, by the title. it wasn’t…sorry you had to deal with a jerky B, JimmyG! I work near the crosswalk at Cali and Findlay and have nearly been run over IN the crosswalk..by a cop. <shakes head>
September 1, 2009 at 3:29 am #675981
CarolPBMemberI always wondered why the state did not require proof of insurance when tabs are renewed. I’m sure there are many drivers without insurance out there-what do you think of this idea? Why have our lawmakers not thought of this?
September 1, 2009 at 6:20 am #675982
WesCAddleMemberPlease pedestrians, be very careful crossing the road in unmarked intersections. I know (and you know) that it’s the law cars must give way to pedestrians at unmarked intersections….but unfortunately many drivers don’t understand this. Use extreme caution, and please don’t try to prove a point by standing out in the road trying to cross a busy street like California or 35th.
Perhaps walking a block down to Findlay’s marked crosswalk would be more prudent in the above mentioned case?
September 1, 2009 at 6:44 am #675983
vincentMembergreat article on driver entitlement. http://publicola.net/?p=13131
September 1, 2009 at 3:12 pm #675984
austinMemberEven if people did bother to learn the most basic rules of operating motor vehicles (which is not required by the state to acquire a drivers license) they would still disregard the well being of anything outside the vehicle unless it presents a direct hazard to the vehicle itself. The most consistent rule of the road I see followed is “don’t scrape the paint”, anything else is a matter of convenience.
September 1, 2009 at 4:56 pm #675985
swimcatMemberAustin, sadly your post is very true. My brother was hit by an off-duty police officer in an unmarked cross walk. Until then I was not aware that basically any intersecion with a wheel chair ramp is considered an unmarked crosswalk and pedestrians have the righ of way to cross (and I consider myself to be an alert driver, but apparently not up to date on crosswalk etiquette). Even if you hit a pedestrian (heaven forbid!) and it was the pedestrians’ fault, I believe the driver is still held responsible. I could be wrong on that though but that’s what I’ve heard.
I like the idea of having to show proof of insurance when you renew your license tabs, and I still firmly believe that to renew your drivers license everyone should have to retake the written and driving tests. It would be less convenient, but it would keep the bad drivers off the road!
September 1, 2009 at 5:34 pm #675986
flowerpetalMemberThese actions would keep bad drivers off the road only if people didn’t drive if they didn’t have insurance or a drivers license. Sadly, there are many people driving without either.
When drivers have to show proof of insurance; they pull out their card, show it, and then go home and cancel their policy (fully knowing that they would never keep the policy).
Likewise, people just drive; whether they have a license or not. It occurs all too frequently.
I think this is why we pay for uninsured motorists on our policies.
I agree, our laws need some teeth in them.
September 1, 2009 at 5:48 pm #675987
JenVMemberflowerpetal nailed it. when I worked in “high risk” insurance, that was always the case. they would buy the policy, and then cancel it just so they could have a “valid” insurance card. most of the claims I handled were denials to the other party for lack of coverage on the part of our “insureds”.
September 1, 2009 at 5:56 pm #675988
GenHillOneParticipantand sadly, it doesn’t matter who was “right” if you’re dead…something I try to keep in mind when on foot.
September 1, 2009 at 5:57 pm #675989
JimmyGMemberm @#11 above, the validity/legality of a crosswalk has nothing to do with whether there is a wheelchair ramp installed or not.
I’ll say it again: ALL INTERSECTIONS ARE LEGAL CROSSWALKS.
September 1, 2009 at 7:34 pm #675990
wilsonParticipantSeptember 1, 2009 at 8:45 pm #675991
JimmyGMemberWilson unless your daughter is in her late 40s to early 50s I’m guessing it wasn’t her. I’m saying that because your dancing avatar is much too energetic to be the parent of a daughter that age.
The Maxima was a bronze or light gold, around a 2001 I think.
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