Pedestrians Have Right of Way Over Cars

I take the bulldogs for a walk. It is a nice day. We get going early, you know, it's before 10am. The sun is shining. Two dogs, two leads, easier than you’d think. They walk well together.

We pass all the punters sitting at the out-door tables. I wonder when they are going to dismantle these mini whatever-they-call-them, structures with tables occupying what used to be car parks, a hangover from covid. Parklets. They call them parklets. When are we going to stop giving public land, that is meant for everyone to use, to private businesses from which to make a private profit?

I start to cross G2 Street, the two dogs on my right hand side, at the same time a white van heading east on G1 Street turns into G2 Street from my left.

We step in front of the white van, as it is the pedestrian’s right of way. Cars give way to pedestrians.

The van isn’t stopping, it just keeps coming.

I take a few more steps, expecting it to stop any moment.

The van still isn’t stopping.

I can see the driver isn’t even looking. He is looking at the shop on the corner, to his left.

I expect him to look any minute, but he doesn’t. 

I pull the bulldogs to me.

The van driver still isn’t looking where he is going, and he keeps coming.

When the right hand front corner of his van is about to hit me in the chest, I call out. “Hey, hey. Give way to pedestrian’s you idiot.” He doesn’t appear to look even then. I bruise my finger slapping the windscreen of his van and then the side of it. “Learn your road rules,” I call after him as he continues down G2 Street. 

He doesn’t react, the progression of his van appears not to change because of me, neither me slapping his windscreen, or the side of his van, we are irrelevant to his use of the road.

That is very strange, I think. Suddenly, someone is slapping your car, you would just automatically stop. Not this guy.

He puts his left blinker on and proceeds to turn into a car park 100 metres (oh, I don't know how far it is, 10 car lengths) down G2 Street. I think he is just continuing with his day, I don’t think he is stopping because of me.

Should I run down and bang on his window? “What the hell were you thinking back there?” Nah, I think. Idiots are idiots.

What would the punters at the outdoor café tables behind me have heard? Me suddenly yelling out. A loud voice, suddenly breaking the peace and quiet. I guess they all looked up, looked around, you know, a bit of drama. Where is that coming from? 

"Did you see that, the guy with the dogs almost got hit by that while van."

"It can happen so quickly."

"He's lucky, he should buy a lottery ticket." (It wasn't that close, I am not stupid enough to get hit by an incompetent driver, I can assure you.)

"I'm too scared to cross in front of cars, for that very reason."

I just kept walking. I didn’t look back.

Perhaps, I should have gone and said something to the driver? Oh why, you can't fix stupid, let's face it.