2008 Woodie Awards
Crosswalk courtesy proves non-existent
Travis Weldon
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Opinions
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There aren't a lot of things that piss me off.
I consider myself a mild-mannered individual who doesn't let a lot of things bother me. Things that should tick me off, rarely do.
But I found something that's been itching underneath my skin for a long time - people without common courtesy.
Have you ever tried to drive around campus? It's horrible. It can take five minutes just to travel from the Miller Center to Atwood.
Why does it take so long? Because of dumbass people who decide to cross the street whenever they feel like it.
I understand pedestrians have the right-of-way. Even when I am walking to class, I tend to walk in front of cars.
But there is one key difference between what I do and what a majority of campus does. I use a crosswalk.
For those who don't know, a crosswalk is used so motorists can see people crossing the street and is used to assist pedestrians wishing to cross. It's a little lane on the road that is easy to spot because of two parallel lines.
To everyone out there, please understand that crosswalks are your friends.
When you don't use a crosswalk, people are doing two things that can slow down traffic.
First off, people are jaywalking, which isn't allowing traffic to move. Why do you think traffic is so busy after classes? Because people don't use a crosswalk and walk wherever the hell they feel like it.
Not only that, but when has it ever been such a hassle to walk straight across the road? Everybody that doesn't walk in a crosswalk is walking at about a 45-degree angle across the street.
That causes the car to wait much longer than the four seconds it would normally take to cross a street. Now it can range in upwards to 15 seconds. Multiply that by how many people cross the street to go to the dorms because of people walking at an angle, and you will understand why I am mad.
I shouldn't risk getting to class late because people feel they can walk wherever the hell they please.
I consider myself a mild-mannered individual who doesn't let a lot of things bother me. Things that should tick me off, rarely do.
But I found something that's been itching underneath my skin for a long time - people without common courtesy.
Have you ever tried to drive around campus? It's horrible. It can take five minutes just to travel from the Miller Center to Atwood.
Why does it take so long? Because of dumbass people who decide to cross the street whenever they feel like it.
I understand pedestrians have the right-of-way. Even when I am walking to class, I tend to walk in front of cars.
But there is one key difference between what I do and what a majority of campus does. I use a crosswalk.
For those who don't know, a crosswalk is used so motorists can see people crossing the street and is used to assist pedestrians wishing to cross. It's a little lane on the road that is easy to spot because of two parallel lines.
To everyone out there, please understand that crosswalks are your friends.
When you don't use a crosswalk, people are doing two things that can slow down traffic.
First off, people are jaywalking, which isn't allowing traffic to move. Why do you think traffic is so busy after classes? Because people don't use a crosswalk and walk wherever the hell they feel like it.
Not only that, but when has it ever been such a hassle to walk straight across the road? Everybody that doesn't walk in a crosswalk is walking at about a 45-degree angle across the street.
That causes the car to wait much longer than the four seconds it would normally take to cross a street. Now it can range in upwards to 15 seconds. Multiply that by how many people cross the street to go to the dorms because of people walking at an angle, and you will understand why I am mad.
I shouldn't risk getting to class late because people feel they can walk wherever the hell they please.