FOOT FAULTS

Common sense is defined as sound and prudent judgement based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.

Common courtesy is defined as the simple acknowledgement of others and the return of a favour.

Neither of these applies to the behaviour of most pedestrians - at least not in Auckland.

There was a time when pedestrians would have enough sense to realise that their body weight was far outweighed by the mass of an average motor vehicle and, coupled with velocity the force was enough to hospitalise them. Not so today. I don't know whether it is ignorance or a blind faith in the efficacy of the hospital services and the generosity of ACC which leads them into taking stupid risks.

There was also a time when pedestrians would catch the eye of the driver who has stopped for them and given a simple acknowledgement of thanks, or, when the pedestrian wasn't in the right when crossing given a simple nod or shrug of apology.

 Not so nowadays. Usually the offending pedestrian is totally unaware of its surroundings due to texting, telephoning or listening to an iPod.

This is particularly bad around the university area where I live. The pedestrians wander across the road whether there is a crossing or not. When there is a crossing with programmed sequences for traffic or pedestrians crossing there are always a few stragglers who set off at the end of the pedestrian sequence, dawdle slowly while aforementioned tele-communicating or chatting with a companion, totally oblivious to the motorist turning left who is in the right (eh?). This makes my blood boil akin to what  Richard's does when he encounters cyclists.