When a pedestrian gets hit by a car on an unlit street...

I remember hearing bits of a news story in which a car hit a pedestrian and killed her. It was dark, many near misses had happened there before, and in fact there was a lamp post put in a few months prior. Arguments began about why the light has been installed, but not lit. The power company claims it has been wired for weeks, but not turned on by the city. The city claims it has not been wired by the power company.

Forgive me if my details are off, but the main point is someone is dead and nobody wants to accept responsibility. They want to blame someone else. How sad. Are the fixing the problem in between breaths as they argue? I sure hope so.

Unrelated, but so similar, was an incident that occurred driving home from Herberger Theater the other night. The usual route was backed up for miles, so I suggested a less traveled and therefore faster route. I gave directions from the back seat, but did not seem to be heard at every point. Though I had said, "We don't turn right for another three lights," he was driving incredibly slowly. He asked the street name where he should turn and upon realizing where he was picked up speed.

At that point, I saw a young man who, if he did not stop or quicken his pace, would cross in front of us just as we arrived where he was heading - the middle of the street. It became clear that the driver did not see the man in dark shoes, grey jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. I insisted, "Slow down". Since our driver was not speeding, he kept going at the same pace. I repeated it, and my mother, also in the back seat suddenly saw the young man slowly headed into our path, and she too said, a bit louder than I, "You need to slow down." The driver did not slow down and the walker did not speed up. I yelled, "Stop! There's a man in the street!"

The driver finally slowed just a bit at our insistance, just enough to not clip the back foot of the man who never picked up his pace, but had turned back to look at the car with a face of defiance, like he was playing chicken and he had just won.

Here's the problem. The game of chicken is only played when both players engage. In this case a seventy five year old man with poor night vision and a mix of poor hearing and a 'don't tell me how to drive' attitude, never saw the teen crossing the street. The young man, seeing that his "look" did not garner engagement from the driver looked straight into my eyes, in the back seat but leaning so far forward trying to intervene somehow. As if to say, "At least you noticed me. And I won." I'm not sure our driver ever saw him, even a s he passied him by a foot to the right of his right fender.

But playing chicken with the night-blind driver or even with a non-driver unable to take control of the car is not chicken at all, but a fool's roulette of potential suicide.

Perhaps he felt cool, tough, in control, powerful, or who knows what. What he should have felt was grateful and lucky and blessed.

Ard from the other point of view, anyone who feels they don't have to get out of a car's way because the car will see them and stop, don't be so certain. Better to cross safely, and yes, look a little foolish breaking out into a run. Because the eyes of the driver you are entrusting your life to may not see as well as desired, because thier eyes or attention may be on a cell phone conversation. We have all heard it so many times, "That person just came out of no where."

Written by Heather J. Kirk
www.HeatherJKirk.com