Pedestrians show little regard for the outcomes of their actions on the road, writes Eric Thompson.
Below is a motorist's reply to a public complaint sent in to the Police Community Roadwatch programme.
This incident happened a number of years ago but goes to show that pedestrians and their inattention to road users is not a recent development. The story does though, again point out the complete disregard a vast number of pedestrians have for the Road Code and their self-denial of the results of their actions.
"I appreciate that you are only following up on a report from a member of the public, but I feel the need to set the record straight as I have been driving for the past 25 years, all over the world, without incident and class myself as generally a good driver. Yes, I have had a few speeding tickets during this time, but that doesn't necessarily detract from a person's driving abilities.
I was indeed the driver of this Holden. I clearly remember this incident because it happened on the eve of my 40th birthday and I remember thinking that it was a miracle that I had made it to this milestone despite there being numerous stupid people out there.
On the afternoon [in question], my wife and I were on our way to Auckland International airport to pick up some friends who had flown over for my 40th birthday party that was being held the next day. We were making a quick detour to my company offices when the incident occurred.
I was already in the process of turning my car right into Fields Lane from the western side of Shortland St (Queen St end) when I was first introduced to Pedestrian A and Pedestrian B who both simply stepped off the footpath to cross Fields Lane right in front of me.
At this particular point in time we now had [my] two tonne car, with its lights and right hand indicator on, having complete right of way after giving way to the appropriate vehicle traffic.
We also now had two clowns who were happily chatting to each other, completely ignorant of their surroundings, walking down Shortland Street (south side) and when they reached the curb they simply kept on walking right into my path without even looking for traffic. Note that this is not a pedestrian crossing of any kind.
The chances of these two being able to beat a car that was already committed to turning were about that of Auckland being able to beat Waikato in an NPC rugby match - slim to none.
As soon as I realised that Pedestrian A and Pedestrian B had a death wish, I hit the car horn and the brakes at the same time.
Pedestrian A and Pedestrian B now looked to the source of the 100 decibel noise and in doing so started to realise that stepping out in front of two tonnes of General Motors metal that was bearing down on them ... was perhaps not the smartest move they have either individually or collectively ever made.
Put simply, they panicked and back-pedalled real fast. I pulled the car up in time, wound the window down and let loose with some brilliant swear words that one can only learn after serving at least 10 years in the army, and we all went on our merry way.
I can understand why the guy behind me had a heart murmur, because an HSV Avalanche can come to a complete stop from 100km/h in about 6.3 seconds. We were both lucky that he didn't hit me as I braked because Pedestrian A and Pedestrian B might have got run over after all.
In order for my car to have supposedly exceeded the 50km/h speed limit that prevails within our fair city as I was making a complete 90 degree right-handed turn, the car and my wife and I would have been subjected to lateral G Forces of around .92 Gs.
I can assure you that had I actually attempted to carry out such a manoeuvre as your letter suggests, my wife would have given me a rather significant slap upside of my head followed by a not-insignificant lecture and I would have had to spend the rest of the weekend on the couch.
If you get a chance to talk to whichever one of Pedestrian A or Pedestrian B who had the perception that the way my vehicle was being driven was not safe, could you ask them if they would much rather have had the number plate of the car embedded in their skull due to being mowed down as a result of their own stupidity.
You may also wish to point out that just because the council also killed any chance of an Auckland City street race, that decision didn't also suddenly give pedestrians super-human powers to simply ignore any of the existing rules in the Road Code.
The fact that Pedestrian A and Pedestrian B were able to lodge a complaint with your office is both a testament to the quality of Holden HSV braking systems and my own lightning quick reflexes. I would therefore like to be rewarded for this outstanding display of driving skills.
This incident does prove one thing though - in order to have smart people in this world, you need to have idiots by which to gauge them."
