Rants & Raves: Unruly pedestrians

Photo / Jason Oxenham

Rant

I am astounded by the number of fellow pedestrians who are either unaware of or don't care about the road rules. I sometimes feel like the only person who looks before they cross the road. Particularly bad is crossing the road outside 277 in Newmarket. It's not a pedestrian crossing - give way to traffic! We seem to have a culture of entitlement that every car should stop for us.

Brigitte Ellis

Rave

On Tuesday I was walking on Clevedon Rd, in heavy rain, on my way to perform voluntary patrol duty. A car going in the opposite direction stopped and a helpful, kind stranger gave me a lift, even though he had to make a U-turn, as he was on his way to his home on Dominion Rd. Just another incident to prove that Kiwis are wonderful, friendly folk.

Sunil

Rant

It is nearly always impossible to see past these vehicles when backing out of angle parking spaces so I inch out very slowly so that I don't get hit by oncoming traffic. Most drivers are aware of vehicles trying to reverse into traffic in this situation and slow down accordingly. What really irks me are the inconsiderate pedestrians who choose to cross the road behind my car as I am trying to see if it is safe to continue reversing.

Jan

Rave

While cycling home from work on Saturday, and with 12km to go, I punctured in Sutherland St, Pt Chev and then found my bike pump was malfunctioning. A motorist stopped to assist and then went back to his nearby home for a pump. In a few minutes he had me on my way again. I was so grateful for his help.

Ken

Rant

I was out walking the other day and walked past a pile of orange council rubbish bags only to see the contents were tin cans. For a start I don't think the council bags are biodegradable and certainly not tin cans. Come on people put tin cans in the recycling bins provided.

Heidi

Rave

I recently dropped a small wallet of bank cards while shopping. I immediately retraced my steps to no avail, so went to the bank to report my loss, only to find that it had already been handed in to the bank by a member of staff from Warehouse Stationery in Warkworth. My grateful thanks to them. Living in a friendly, small town is great.

Moira

Tell us what you love about life in New Zealand - and what needs to change. Email rantandrave@nzherald.co.nz