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As a frequent pedestrian in Seattle, overly cautious/"courteous" drivers are a big nuance. Particularly drivers who are over-eager to stop at crosswalks, somet

As a frequent pedestrian in Seattle, overly cautious/"courteous" drivers are a big nuance. Particularly drivers who are over-eager to stop at crosswalks, sometimes parking in the middle of the intersection to wait for the cross walk on the other side. Some drivers around here have a habit of stopping prematurely too, waiting for me to cross before I've even gotten to the intersection. Sometimes it gets truly absurd. Once I was standing on the sidewalk at an intersection waiting for an Uber when a driver stopped at a green light and started honking at me, furious when I refused to cross the road.

perl4ever 7y ago
In some states, you can and will be ticketed if you don't stop whenever someone steps off the curb. I seem to remember hearing or reading that is the case in Massachusetts, so you may see drivers from out of state being very cautious even elsewhere. Also, the other day, I was making a left from a one-way street, from the left side of it, and someone tried to drive around me on the shoulder to the left, because they were unaware I was waiting for a jogger pushing a stroller to cross in front of me.
fingerlocks 7y ago
In Seattle all unmarked intersections are considered pedestrian right-of-ways, by law. There have been campaigns to promote this. Ten to twenty years ago it was not uncommon for pedestrians to throw tantrums and shame drivers for not stopping them, usually in Fremont and Capitol Hill. That may explain some of the behavior; possibly the drivers you encountered were native Seattlites with intersection PTSD. But I generally agree with you. it’s a often egregious and can be extremely dangerous for both the pedestrian and other vehicles when a lone driver stops unexpectedly on a >2 lane road.
aaronbrethorst 7y ago
I almost got run over today on Capitol Hill because of this. A driver in one direction was so insistent that I cross in front of them that I failed to be sufficiently attentive about the other direction and almost got hit.

perl4ever 7y ago

In some states, you can and will be ticketed if you don't stop whenever someone steps off the curb. I seem to remember hearing or reading that is the case in Massachusetts, so you may see drivers from out of state being very cautious even elsewhere. Also, the other day, I was making a left from a one-way street, from the left side of it, and someone tried to drive around me on the shoulder to the left, because they were unaware I was waiting for a jogger pushing a stroller to cross in front of me.

fingerlocks 7y ago

In Seattle all unmarked intersections are considered pedestrian right-of-ways, by law. There have been campaigns to promote this. Ten to twenty years ago it was not uncommon for pedestrians to throw tantrums and shame drivers for not stopping them, usually in Fremont and Capitol Hill. That may explain some of the behavior; possibly the drivers you encountered were native Seattlites with intersection PTSD. But I generally agree with you. it’s a often egregious and can be extremely dangerous for both the pedestrian and other vehicles when a lone driver stops unexpectedly on a >2 lane road.

aaronbrethorst 7y ago

I almost got run over today on Capitol Hill because of this. A driver in one direction was so insistent that I cross in front of them that I failed to be sufficiently attentive about the other direction and almost got hit.