1) Saturday PM: person walks backwards quickly into the middle of the
traffic lane from between two parked vans midblock...did not look until
I was stopped in the middle of the opposing lane . . . I saw him jump in
my right rearview mirror . . . approximately next to my rear door. If
there had been a solid object in the opposing lane, I would have hit
him, and probably either seriously injured or killed him. Luckily I had
passengers who were paying attention and would have backed me up, in
fact, they were ready to exit the bus and `reinstruct' him. I can't say
what I would feel if I had run him over, but intellectually, I have no
qualms about removing him from the gene pool.
2) Consciously jumping in front of a moving bus.
3) Running across a street against a red light.
4) Jumping off the curb as the bus is pulling up to the curb.
5) Running across a freeway or expressway.
6) Crossing an unlighted street in low visibility while wearing black.
Again...these are all situations where you would be Dead Right...
or, perhaps an obvious suicide. No driver should be put in a situation
like this, because even if it is determined to be not your fault, you
still have to live with the reality of having killed or injured someone
when there was nothing that could have been done to avoid it.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating...the easiest part of being
a Muni operator is driving the vehicle, second is the passengers, but
the hardest part is thinking for everyone else out there on the
street...it would be nice if sometimes they would pay a little attention
towards their own safety and behavior.
Today's Tip to Avoid Street Pizza:
Look First!...well: Look towards traffic before stepping out...let's
try that again: Look towards traffic and determine if it is clear before
proceeding.
Robert Parks
22-Fillmore