Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version Vortex 1.0 6/6/83; site vortex.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!vortex!lauren From: Lauren Weinstein Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Pedestrians in L.A. Message-ID: <92@vortex.UUCP> Date: Sun, 7-Aug-83 03:19:14 EDT Article-I.D.: vortex.92 Posted: Sun Aug 7 03:19:14 1983 Date-Received: Mon, 8-Aug-83 01:25:39 EDT Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles Lines: 17 There's a pretty good reason why all traffic (in all lanes on the appropriate side of the street) tends to stop when a pedestrian randomly crosses a street in L.A. -- the action is totally unexpected and *not* generally practiced. Oh sure, there are crazies everywhere, but pedestrians do *not* make a *normal* practice of ignoring traffic signals and crossing in the middle of busy streets here. Back East, that sort of behavior goes on all the time, drivers are used to it, and they continue merrily speeding along in other lanes, confident that the pedestrian knows what he or she is doing. Out here, such actions are so rare that such assumptions are *not* safe to make, and the pedestrian *does* have the right of way from a safety standpoint (though they could be [and are] ticketed or arrested for unsafe crossings of the sort described). The fact that their crossing technique is illegal does not mean that they are "fair game" to attack with a vehicle, however -- at least not around here. --Lauren--