THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING

Southland Times, Issue 24597, 20 November 1941, Page 6

THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING

Good Behaviour And Bad

Do motorists show sufficient patience and courtesy at pedestrian crossings, or are the pedestrians, knowing they have the right-of-way, prone to take advantage of this? In an endeavour to form an impartial opinion a reporter of The Southland Times spent 15 minutes at a street corner on a recent afternoon watching the ebb and flow of traffic. But conclusions were not easy to form; human character differs so widely. Care and consideration within reasonable limits seemed to be the main concern of the motorists. Some possessing patience in plenty appeared prepared to wait indefinitely, and even went so far as to give a knightly wave of the hand to hesitating pedestrians—proof that old world courtesy is by no means dead. On occasions they were rewarded with an appreciative smile. However, the countenances of motorists queueing up behind did not always reveal the same generosity of outlook. INDECISION OF DRIVERS Indecision marked the behaviour of other drivers. One in particular decided at first that there was no necessity to stop. A moment later he changed his mind and stood on the footbrake in a resigned fashion, stopping half-way over the crossing. Then, with a lurch, he shot off again. Showing little desire to be balked by such a thing as a pedestrian crossing, others again found a gap where most motorists would have hesitated and sneaked their way through, oblivious to unfriendly stares. A lorry driver adopted different tactics. He approached the crossing at a speed that might have been frowned upon by a person in authority, possibly in the hope of putting to flight any timid pedestrians. Whether or not that was his object, he succeeded. A girl about to step from the seclusion of the footpath made a hasty retreat when she saw the lorry swooping down upon the crossing. But in the main the motorists recognized their obligations. RIGHT MOMENT AWAITED The pedestrians, or at least the majority of them, showed discrimination by crossing at an appropriate moment. That is, they crossed when there was a lull in the traffic. Here again, of course, some took an undisguised delight in exercising their right-of-way either by stepping suddenly out in front of an oncoming car of dawdling over the crossing. Taking a broad view, the motorists, in the main, performed their obligations with a good grace, and the pedestrians, in most cases, showed no desire to abuse their privileges.