I’m often complaining about things that I see people doing around the city. Whether it be someone throwing his cigarette butt on the sidewalk, or some annoying person trying to open the door for you at a 711 so he can bum some money off you on the way out, there seems to be always something out there that starts to get on my nerves after a while. One of those things is the improper use of pedestrian signals at intersection crosswalks.

Now is it really that big a deal to stop and wait until the next light before trying to cross the street? Judging by the behavior of many of the pedestrians in Vancouver, it certainly seems to be. I know I lost track, a long time ago, of people who have started walking across crosswalks at busy intersections while the hand was already flashing, and making stressed out drivers wait longer than they should to make their left or right turn onto that street. Not that long ago, I saw a 30-something year old girl start waking across the street right in front of a car that was making a left turn, forcing him to stop quickly. When the driver tooted his horn (rightly so), instead of hurrying or realizing that she was being stupid, she turned toward the driver and gave him the middle finger.

The signals

The walk signal

This signal means you have the right of way to walk across the crosswalk. All vehicles should yield to you as you are walking, but you should still try to be considerate and not walk like a turtle. Also, don’t forget to exercise caution. If the light has just changed, a car might be trying to speed through a yellow light, and passing by just as you start to take your first step. You just need to pay attention.

The "move your ass if you're not yet across and don't start walking" signal

This is the signal that causes by far the most trouble. The main reason is that a lot of people actually don’t know what they are supposed to do here. Well, this is the way it is supposed to be done. If you have not yet entered the intersection, and the hand starts flashing, you should not enter the intersection, especially if it is busy. Keep in mind that there are drivers on the street who are trying to drive across the same area. Why make life more difficult for drivers by walking across the street when you’re not supposed to?

The "don't walk" signal

And, of course, everyone knows what this means. If you’re still making your way across the street when this is on, and you haven’t started running yet, then you probably deserve to go rolling over someone’s hood.

Of course, these strict rules should only apply to busy intersections, or when the traffic is heavier than normal. Imagine how foolish you would look if you were standing at an intersection waiting for the walk signal to come on with no cars on the street at all. Thus, if you are trying to cross a street that isn’t busy at all, it’s probably okay to use your own judgment. The rule of thumb is to make sure that what you do is not impeding traffic in any way.

One more thing I’d like to make note of is a common mistake people make while waiting for the walk signal to come on. I’m talking about the time when there is a short gap in the traffic, and a couple of people perhaps think it’s safe to cross at this moment. Some other people who are waiting, though, and not really paying attention may follow those people into the intersection, and a small flow of people may begin, even though the red hand is still up. I’ve seen this happen so many times, and it’s really dangerous. Often the cars have to stop abruptly to avoid running over these people who had assumed it was safe to walk just because other people were walking. So it’s not always best to follow what other people are doing. Pay attention!

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