Eric Thompson: Ponsonby Rd bozo proves pedestrian predicament

Pedestrians need to have a healthy respect for cars. Photo / Richard Robinson

Opinion

It would appear, by the number of people who commented on last week's piece about pedestrians aimlessly using the road, that it split the population.

After reading many of the comments, a feeling began to rise that I may have been too harsh on those who think they have equal rights when sharing the black top.

But the feeling didn't last long - thanks to a bozo woman on Ponsonby Rd.

After finishing my motoring slot on Radio Live, I saw first-hand why there is such a thing as the annual Darwin Awards, handed out to "commemorate those who give natural selection a hand by removing themselves from the gene pool" by the sheer stupidity of their actions.

Most of Ponsonby Rd has two lanes in both directions. I was driving along the nearside lane with traffic on my outside. All of a sudden the car next to me braked and I saw a woman lunge from in front of its bonnet and loom larger than life in front of me.

Thank goodness for the Toyota's anti-lock brakes and traction control thingy, as I just missed hitting her.

When the driver of the other car and I started to breathe again, we blasted our horns. This is where it gets really weird and worrying. The woman spun around and gave us the fingers and started ranting that it was our fault we nearly hit her.

I'm not often lost for words but how the hell can it be my fault, or the other driver's, when she lunged on to the road?

It wasn't until a while later I realised she must have played chicken with the traffic going in the opposite direction as well. If I were her, I'd buy a few Lotto tickets.

Some readers said cyclists, and pedestrians to a certain extent, had the same rights as drivers. That may be so in the road code, but no matter how hard I wave the latest edition at a car, let alone a bus or truck, while running across the road, I know what I'd rather be inside.

Anyway, read what some of you wrote.

"I totally agree with Eric. And people who walk on the wrong side of country roads in dark clothing at night should be prosecuted if they survive and celebrated as an entrant for the Darwin Awards if they don't." Name supplied.

"You're muddling the issue of road safety by chucking bike riding in with kids wandering into the road. First of all, cyclists have a legitimate right to use the road, like cars do. End of story." Name supplied.

"Read the legislation and the road code Eric - cyclists DO have the same rights. What they lack is the physical presence and a judiciary prepared to make the point. The psychosis (loss of contact with reality, in this case the law) is yours I'm afraid." Name supplied.

"Silly man - we all know that the correct way of thinking these days is that everything is someone else's fault and everybody else should be looking out for me. Also, children are quite capable of raising themselves without parental or adult input. This may be why children have no manners, do not know how to behave in public, do not know how to cross roads safely, are unable to eat anything remotely nutritious and are generally obnoxious and revolting." Name supplied.

"Teaching your kids (either by example or implying by transferring responsibility to drivers), that the road is a safe place to walk and play is condemning them to death. The fact that you might be able to put the driver behind bars afterward is not going to bring them back to life. My kids already understand that carparks, roads and crossings are perilous. You would be well advised to convey the same understanding to yours, or prepare for tragedy." Name supplied.

"Eric appears to be deluded into a 'might is right' consciousness - which always seems to end badly. Our nation's heroes appear to be sport stars and the super-rich. Further, faster, more! Maybe it is time to rethink and support those who support the marginalised? We are all in this together, after all. Cars are noisy, smelly and dangerous. They are wasteful and vast tracts of land are required to accommodate them." Name supplied.

"Strange, I thought the law provided them with equal rights. Riding a bike is not always a 'pastime'. I get to work on a bicycle. No one thinks that strange here. It used to be the same in NZ. Maybe times have changed?" Name supplied.

"This article barely deserves a reply, but very quickly, cyclists have equal right to the road (get over it!) and if you visit some of the more enlightened cities in the world (Amsterdam is a good start) you'll see good examples of road sharing between all forms of transport and pedestrians." Name supplied.

"Eric completely missed the point of the ad on the back of the bus. Children are not miniature adults - they are yet to develop the skills to think like adults, to make rational decisions and evaluate the consequences of their actions. Hence they act impulsively and irrationally (up to their mid-20s), and we all have a moral responsibility to protect them from themselves (on the roads, at least). Tragically, most kids knocked down near schools or school buses have impulsively run across the road to greet mum." Name supplied.

There you have it. Just a small sample of the comments and it looks a bit like an "us and them" situation.

My main point is that roads are dangerous and not a playground for anyone whether in a car, on a pushbike, or on foot.

Mutual respect might be the go, combined with a dollop of healthy fear.