Caught in the Crosswalk
I've got pedestrian rage. Not pedestrian in the "commonplace" or unimaginative" sense of the word. Pedestrian as in "on foot." As in walking with my two-year-old child in tow. Very slowly. Across...the...street.
As of April 1, 2010, New Jersey passed a law requiring that cars COME TO A FULL STOP AND STAY STOPPED for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Failure to do so can result in a fine, 15 days of community service, and two points on your license (which is a very, very bad thing to have). But neither the possibility of killing a mother and her child just so they can get to their destination 30 seconds faster nor the threat of a $200 fine has some NJians COMING TO A FULL STOP when they see my daughter and me in the crosswalk. In fact, some of said NJ drivers have actually been speeding up when they see our perambulating figures. And I just want to say, What's up with that?!?
I know that you saw me as you drove on, staring ahead, your guilty eyes hidden behind your Chanel frames. Really, how could you miss us? Sophia, struggling in my arms, screaming "Put me DOWN! I want to walk BY MYSELF!" as I trudge across the street with my 27-lb load. Or, me, pulling our teal Step 2 wagon, Sophia teetering in the center though I have just asked her to PLEASE SIT DOWN for the third time.
It's not like I'm jaywalking, darting out from between parked cars, thrusting Sophie before me as a human shield as I illegally dash across a four-lane highway. Nor am I stridently bouding into the crosswalk without regard for how much stopping time the approaching cars may have.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati