People still drive crazy! Even when there were lots of people around, people in cars still weren’t paying attention. I have a three year old that “needed” to be Spider Man, so my wife and I dressed him up and we went out. We started before dark and made our way, house to house, through the neighborhood to the local park (almost a mile). It was a long way for a three year old.
At the park, there was a city wide “Safe Halloween” going on. It was nice to have the kid run from game to game and get candy instead of in the street. There were lots of cops around, including the one stopping every car as it entered the park to remind people to slow down.
We let the kid run amuck and just followed him around. It was way easier than going door to door. Once we, the parents, got bored, we headed for home. By then, it was dark and there were lots of people out trick or treating and driving around.
We made it home without any problems. Just a tired kid and a dog that didn’t want to walk on the sidewalk. For some reason, when our dog gets tired, she wants to walk in the middle of the street regardless of how many cars are driving by.
Here are a couple things I was reminded of during our excursion:
- Not getting hit by a car is your responsibility. You are the one that will end up dead, take the responsibility.
- When the street is crowded with cars, parked and moving, and there is no sidewalk, and you are forced to walk in the street, use the parked cars as shields against the moving cars. If you can, move on the street around the parked cars when there isn’t a car moving. Then, when a car moves into your space, duck between the parked cars and wait for the car to pass.
- Use your flashlight correctly. Use it to be seen, not to see. I hate to say it, but your million lumen Surefire light may not be as good for this job as some of the cheap LED lights out there. My wife kept using my Surefire to make a halo on the street in front of her because she didn’t want to blind drivers, but it made her hard to see. I held the light in my hand parallel to the ground and just walked normally. The swinging light is much more effective at gaining the attention of texting motorist. If you really want to be seen, flash your light on the hood of the car you want to see you.
Stay Safe,
Ben