I used to silently sneer at people who did what this person did to me two days ago. While walking home from Downtown Silver Spring - we ate at Panera and stopped in at Office Depot - We came across this person stopped in the crosswalk at Bonifant Ave. Recently, I have noticed that more people back out of the crosswalk if they have room - or signal throough the windsheild that they're sorry if they don't. This person just sat there, with plenty of room to back-up. As we walked around the front of the vehicle, I stopped and pointed to the stop line and said, " You're supposed to be stopped back there. You are blocking the crosswalk. There is no turn on red here anyway." No response, except maybe a sneer. So, when I got to the other side of the intersection, I turned around and took a photo. I took another to prove that the vehicle was stationary.
Mundane? Yes. Illegal? also, YES. More than just being illegal - it's also very rude and inconsiderate. This happens one-out-of-four times I cross this intersection. I have almost been struck at least twice by vehicles turning right against the NTOR sign. I think this is an enforcement issue, but who in their right mind would ask the Police to spend time on something as insignificant as this?
I keep hearing about "Pedestrian Education" as part of MC's Ped Safety initiative. I remember the "Street Smart" campaign from several years ago. I wonder - is there any evidence that any of this worked? What the heckk does "Pedestrian Education" mean anyway? It seems that we have plenty of "Driver edjacaten" atill left to do. I always thought getting a ticket was a pretty-good education. Isn't Education really a function of enforcement?
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