Elderly Man in China throws Bricks at Cars that Run Red Lights
Klaus Varley
This article was sent to us from our friend Steve, a political activist in Portland.
And by "political activist" in Portland I mean "resident" of Portland. God, I love Portland.
Done reading the article about the Chinese ex-professor who throws bricks at cars that blatently break the law and fly through pedestrian crossings? Good.
After posting the article, Steve said the guy in it - Yan Zheng-ping - is his hero. After reading the piece, I concur. Here's why:
A few years ago I was hit by a car while crossing a small side street along Santa Monica Blvd. I was in the crosswalk, the signal displayed the white "OK to cross" man, and I wasn't talking on the cell phone or listening to headphones. And I STILL got hit.
In case you wondered, the feeling was something like, "They're going to slow down, they're going to slow down/no they're not/JUMP!" But you probably guessed that.
While I walked away from the accident, I did manage to smash the woman's windshield with my shoulder and lose my sandal in a nearby storm drain. (Three days later we fished it out with a clothes hanger. Thank you LA weather for never raining.)
Had I been elderly, I might not have had the intuition to jump and roll off of her car. Had the woman been driving an SUV instead of a small Japanese car, it wouldn't have mattered if I jumped. Or as the nurse in the emergency room said, "You got really lucky." When I explained that I was in a crosswalk, she added, "Most people get hit in crosswalks." That made sense (sort of), as I assume most people cross the street in crosswalks.
The event, the conversation with the nurse, and this article all reinforce my belief that drivers should be extra careful when steering their 2000lb boxes of metal across those "walking" lines. If a car runs a light, or puts you in danger, the fines should be great.
Or you should be allowed to hit their car with a brick.
Seriously.
-KV
2 comments:
Whoa! Some drivers are totally oblivious.
Once I was crossing a street in the Pearl, and a driver was turning right. I assumed she saw me. She did not, and nearly ran over my foot. So I banged on (hoping to dent) her giant SUV. Still did not notice, and nearly ran me over a second time. She was on her cell phone.
Near misses are crazy. I had a couple just like yours before...
And actually, that's exactly how I got hit - the driver was making a right turn through a green...around a Big Blue Bus.
Yes, they're really called "Big Blue Buses."
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