Blind Spots, Courteous Drivers and Killing with Kindness

It's a very serious safety issue, especially for kids who are more prone to take direction from well-intended adults!

BEWARE OF THE BLINDLY COURTEOUS DRIVER!

I have personally witnessed this MANY times as a driver and health care worker and my husband, working in pediatrics has treated many victims of well-intended but misguided acts of kindness.

Typical scenario #1: A motorist, who has just gotten the right of way at a stoplight on a multi-lane road notices some pedestrians or bicyclists waiting to cross the street. They decide not to take their right of way and cheerfully wave the bikes and walkers to cross in front of them without realizing that there is a lane of traffic next to them that had not intended to extend the same courtesy. Nor did they see the motorist behind them who, confused by the stopped car ahead, decides to whip in to the passing lane to get around the "stalled" car and someone gets hit.

Typical scenario #2: A motorist sees a car patiently waiting to make a left turn and, knowing that the oncoming line of traffic is seemingly endless decides to stop to allow the person to complete their left turn. The lane next to them and the motorists behind are busy following their right of way and the turning car gets t-boned or the courteous motorist gets rear-ended.

Typical scenario #3: The passenger of the car makes eye contact with and waves a kid, or bicyclist on to pass in front of them at a stop and the driver didn't notice and proceeded through a stop, hitting the bicyclist or pedestrian.

I personally have even gotten "courteous" motorists UPSET with me when I refused their courtesy wave allowing me to make a left in front of them when I could see the oncoming traffic in the adjacent lane was not going to stop and would have hit me. If I only saw this once or twice, I wouldn't post this but I see it sooo often in suburban Chicago and have seen so many adults and children who sustained serious injuries due to accidents where they obeyed the courteous driver's directions that I decided to launch my own public service announcement campaign.

PLEASE resist the temptation to bend the traffic right of way in favor of courtesy and please educate your children to about the hazards of not looking FOR THEMSELVES to make sure that traffic conditions REALLY make it safe to cross the street. I'd appreciate if you would pass this post on.

Comments

[Leah Ocean]

And remember if you are a motorist in California, it is STATE LAW that the PEDESTRIAN has the RIGHT OF WAY. If one car stops at a crosswalk, ALL CARS MUST STOP. So extra care must be taken when following the law because so many others, particularly from out-of-state, do not obey the law. (The law essentially is that the most likely to get squished in an encounter has the right of way.)

[Laura Young]

Thanks Leah! It definitely would help to have nationwide laws where this is concerned. I had not even considered the statewide variances.

[Kerri]

There is a turn into our neighborhood that is very similar to this. I'll slow down and not block the intersection so that another driver can make the left turn in front of me, but won't wave them on. Too many have been waved on, haven't checked the second lane, and have been hit. So frustrating.

[Lisa]

I work in the insurance industry and have seen the outcome of these "kind gestures". I always want to be kind to other drivers and let them in, or let them turn, but I avoid it when there is more than my lane to contend with. It isn't worth it. Great post.

Here via the carnival of family life.

[Faerie Rebecca]

I try to be courteous on the road, but always with safety in mind. There's a big crosswalk of a large trail that I pass several times a day. I'm always amazed at the people who don't leave the crosswalk clear when they are stopped at a red light! The pedestrians and bicyclists can't get through. A little courtesy would go a long way.

And it's hard having moved from CA, where as Leah says, peds have the right-of-way at all times, to VA where peds are on their own as far as the law (and most motorists!) are concerned.

Thanks for the thought-provoking post!