There's a pedestrian crossing at an intersection near the end of my street that I have come to dread. It's positioned at the intersection of a side street, so that inattentive drivers intending to turn can be surprised by it.
But it's not so much the positioning of it that fills me with anxiety — it's the attitude of drivers when I try to cross. One driver attempting to turn left screamed abuse at me after he realised he had to stop. Drivers attempting to turn right before realising I'm already on the crossing block oncoming traffic and take their agitation and embarrassment out on me. Drivers will try to race you so they don't have to wait.
The worst part? Even if the crossing wasn't marked, all of the drivers turning onto the street I was crossing would have to give way to me anyway. It's an oft ignored driving rule that applies in every state and territory in Australia, that most pedestrians wouldn't be game to put their bodies on the line to take advantage of.
Australian drivers are already impatient when it comes to pedestrians using clearly marked zebra crossings. Expecting right of way in front of turning cars goes just exactly as you'd expect — with a good amount of honking, car revving and verbal abuse. Is there a quick hand gesture for 'Read the road rules — I'm in the right'? I'm just about ready to get a body cam.
This is why the moral panic around pedestrians and smartphones irks me. Recently, the RACQ called for a fine for pedestrians who use their phone while crossing the road. It's touted as a solution to those pesky pedestrians who don't look when they cross the street and run into cars. Last year, Hawaii actually introduced a Distracted Walking Fine of up to US$99. But there is no good data anywhere proving the link between distracted pedestrians using smartphones, and fatal crashes.
Figures from the Australian Road Deaths database show a seven per cent spike in pedestrian deaths since the same 12 month period last year, and shockingly, an 80 per cent increase in cyclist deaths despite an overall drop in the road toll. In Victoria, crash data analysed by Victoria Walks showed that in at least 42 per cent of crashes involving an older pedestrian at an unsignalled intersection, the motorist should have given way. At signalled intersections, that figure