Tomb

A couple months ago, I was crossing a quiet street in a crosswalk to go to a park. I had with me five children. A driver, seeing a small gap between me and three of the children, decided to dart between the two groups of pedestrians in the crosswalk. Last week, crossing in a crosswalk, a Black Dodge pickup truck passed an arm’s-length in front of me.

I walk to and from work, and I walk for fun, which puts me on the streets of Calgary more than 300 times a year for 20 minutes or more each outing, for the last 12 years. I will confess to you, that I don’t always cross at crosswalks. I’m also an avid jaywalker.

I jaywalk because I believe it is safer. I cross 22 streets on my way to and from work each day. Six of the crossings I use are busy streets. I cross at a crosswalk six or seven times each day, and jaywalk the rest. Most days, my pedestrian rights are flattened in a crosswalk at least once a day.

This morning, during a light snow, a brazen woman in a black Lexus SUV saw me in the crosswalk and drove on through. I have never been threatened in the same way by any driver when I jaywalk. It’s simply never happened.

In 2006, Calgary drivers hit 538 pedestrians. In 190 cases, the drivers were charged. Pedestrians were charged in 25 situations. By the end of October of 2007, 428 pedestrians kissed some chrome. The pedestrian was charged 25 times, and the driver 146. Walking within the paint isn’t as safe as it seems.

Why are crosswalks so dangerous? They’re dangerous because one of every 20 drivers does not respect the pedestrian’s right to cross the street. They’re dangerous because pedestrians expect drivers to respect those rights, even when drivers aren’t paying attention. For me, a defensive posture requires me to expect disrespectful drivers, to expect drivers to drive toward me deliberately (which has happened on occasion), to believe all traffic is out to get me — in short, adopt a healthy paranoia.

I am paranoid when I jaywalk. Since I’m crossing without any rights as a pedestrian, I’m alert; I expect traffic to be mean-spirited and vicious. I cross in such a way as to minimize my intrusion to traffic streams, and to protect myself as much as possible. When I use a crosswalk, I take less responsibility for my passage. I rely, I would suggest, too heavily on the power of white paint and the good will and attention of others.

Two weeks ago, a mother pushing her child in a stroller entered a crosswalk. Halfway through her crossing, a man driving a city truck, talking on his cellphone, flew through the crosswalk and, noticing the terrified mother and child mere feet from the front of his pickup, managed to let go of the steering wheel to give a wave with his impish grin, as if to say in a jaunty way “Sorry about nearly killing you and your child.”

There is a $500 fine for driving through a crosswalk with a pedestrian in it. This is a good thing . The only issue I have with this fine is that it is most often awarded posthumously, as a bequest of the pedestrian.

When I taught my own children to cross the street, I tried to teach them of the power of the crosswalk. However, I realize if I want my children to learn to cross the street safely, I should teach them to jaywalk — that they should take complete responsibility for crossing the street. Don’t leave it to mothers who organize soccer teams on cellphones while they drive, or men who eat hamburgers while they steer with their knees.

On the street, it’s only a lump of humanity against a screaming metal machine. In this duel, one must leave aside intangibles like courtesy and the law and realize that the motored metal always outdoes the loping lump.

I recommend we eliminate all crosswalks and all pedestrian rights as assigned by the laws of our city and province. Instead, Calgary should announce open season on pedestrians with no hunting limit. We could offer stuffing and mounting services for anyone who manages to bag a pedestrian crossing a street. The only ones hit would be the weak and unaware — thus improving the species. In this new regime, pedestrians would clearly understand what they need to do to safely cross the street.

Bill Bunn dodges traffic to and from Mount Royal College where he teaches English.