I was on my way to work. You were on your high horse. Then BAM! You slammed into my right shoulder, and just kept right on going.
No, no it's fine. Really. I'm OK. But once the little animated birdies stopped circling my head and you were long gone, I noticed that I was but one victim in the overall carnage you had left behind.
That's because you had decided to cross the crosswalk diagonally.
Yep...there you were at your point A with your eyes dead-set on your point B, and ain't nothin' was gonna get in the way of where YOU had to go. Not my shoulder. Not the little old lady piloting her Jazzy. Nothing.
To be fair, there are no written rules with regard to crossing crosswalks. Just common sense. And since you've proven that we can't rely on that, you can borrow some of mine. I'll draw pictures, too.
How to Cross a Crosswalk
OPTION 1: Walk in a straight line, keeping to the right-hand side of the crosswalk. (See Figure A.)
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| Fig. A: Safe cross-walking |
OPTION 2: Walk in a straight line to the other side of the street, keeping to your trajectory. (See Figure B.)
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| Fig. B: So-so, yet still acceptable cross-walking |
How NOT to Cross a Crosswalk
Fix your eyes on the spot where you would most like to be once you've crossed the street (Figure C)...
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| Fig. C: This can't end well |
And go for it (Figure D)...
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| Fig. D |
So you see, loathee, until portals, transporters or floo powder become real-life alternatives for getting us quickly from one destination to another, we're just going to have to rely on our measly network of roads, train tracks, bike paths and pedestrian crosswalks. And although you may have mistakenly interpreted the "cross" in "crosswalk" to mean "in any direction...at any cost," I can't allow that to be my problem.
Print out the pretty pictures. Study them. There will be a test should we "run into" each other again.
Sorely,
Vexed walker ranger
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