Caught in the crosswalk

I wrote this blog originally in November 2008. I had just bought a pregnancy test and after I wrote this blog, I found out I was pregnant. This is significant because I almost got ran down by an arrogant driver in a crosswalk and two lives could have been lost that day.

Is it just me or has our country as a whole just become drivers that don't pay attention to their surroundings? The fact that people are texting and driving is just very scary. Just today I was out running some errands and I went to Target. Now most of us know that most Target's typically have a gigantic crosswalk section in front of them. I am ready to cross from the parking lot to the store and I see a black pickup truck stop for an older lady to cross. She crosses and I start to cross as well. Just then, the black pick up revs his engine and continues to drive. I jumped back and waved my hands at the man. He stops for a moment, just looks at me , shrugs his shoulders and drives off.

Now I am not a small person at 5'6 and even in a pickup , I am clearly visible. Thank god my 2 year old daughter was not with me. This is the third time I've been almost run over in a cross walk in the past month. The first two times occured at the army post where I work. The first time it was a teenage boy who almost ran me down while I was in the middle of a crosswalk and thank god I ran the other way because he never stopped. The second time I was walking across the parking lot (which is only about a 15 feet walk). When this middle aged women comes plowing down and barely missed me. Again, I threw my hands in the air and she just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.

I just don't understand, do I have a big target on my belly or something? I can't blame it on age, as two out of three times the people were at least middle aged. I just think people don't like to wait, they are always in a hurry and aren't really paying attention to the world outside of their car window. Where I live, you need to drive down a heavily wooded area to get to my development. The speed limit is 25. I always see deer crossing the road or at least on the side of the road, waiting to cross. I've been lucky that I've been able to stop in time for the deer to cross. That is deer, in worst terms, there are also roads near my house where people cross, in the dark, typically not at crosswalks. These people may be with their families and include small children. I worry that if I'm not safe in the crosswalks, these people have a very slim chance of not getting hit, crossing a busy two way street.

My message to all is simple. Concentrate on the road and your surroundings when your drive. That missed call or unanswered text message is not as important as someone's life.