I was thinking quick, but not quick enough.I was out walking with a coworker and we were waiting to cross with the lights at a busy downtown intersection. We got the green light and started out into the cross walk, but watching the cross traffic as one always does in Los Angeles, and probably in many other parts of the country (if not the world), and a good thing too.
A young lady, in her brand new car, still with dealer plates, rolled across the pedestrian's cross walk and stopped, just on the other side, halfway out into the intersection. She came within a couple of feet of hitting me, and would have done so if I hadn't been paying more attention. She then foolishly engaged Reverse, as if the pedestrians she'd almost run down were going to let her back her car up out of the intersection.
Not a chance. Not one.
Everyone walked around behind her car, and she was forced to sit out in the intersection, blocking one lane, which had a big old bus in it. Once the light finally changed to green for her, despite her having a 12 foot lead on everyone else, she was the slowest car through the intersection. I guess her little incident shook her up somewhat. I guess almost running down half a dozen pedestrians probably would shake someone up a bit.
Afterwards, I realized I'd missed my opportunity. She wasn't going that fast. She stopped just the other side of the pedestrian crossing, with the back of her car blocking part of the crossing. Had I really been on my toes, I could have ignored her and stepped in front of her car, and got hit. I would have thrown my weight upwards and backwards and landed across her hood (bonnet for you non-US readers) with probably nothing more serious than a couple of bruises. But I wasn't thinking quite that clearly, or opportunistically, or right now I'd be lying on an Ambulance stretcher giving my statement to a police officer. With me would have been my coworker, a government employee, not as above reproach (in the eyes of the law) as a Police Officer, but still a more than credible witness. I would have also ensured the bus driver did not leave the scene, and thus acquired a second government employee as my witness.
Of course knowing my luck, after she hit me, the girl would probably have floored it right into the intersection in a foolish attempt to flee the scene (coz that's just my luck) and she would have either rammed another car, or I would have gone flying and bouncing down the road and really hurt myself.
Maybe it's for the better that I didn't seize the moment and launch an unethical operation, which could have netted a small fortune.
Liz, don't be too mad. Yeah, maybe I passed up an easy opportunity to score a few hundred thousand dollars, but the potential for me to have been seriously hurt if I did jump in front of her is fairly high, not to mention, what if she was one of those thousands of drivers who don't have insurance.
Yah, there's a reason why honest people don't usually participate in dishonest activities.
A young lady, in her brand new car, still with dealer plates, rolled across the pedestrian's cross walk and stopped, just on the other side, halfway out into the intersection. She came within a couple of feet of hitting me, and would have done so if I hadn't been paying more attention. She then foolishly engaged Reverse, as if the pedestrians she'd almost run down were going to let her back her car up out of the intersection.
Not a chance. Not one.
Everyone walked around behind her car, and she was forced to sit out in the intersection, blocking one lane, which had a big old bus in it. Once the light finally changed to green for her, despite her having a 12 foot lead on everyone else, she was the slowest car through the intersection. I guess her little incident shook her up somewhat. I guess almost running down half a dozen pedestrians probably would shake someone up a bit.
Afterwards, I realized I'd missed my opportunity. She wasn't going that fast. She stopped just the other side of the pedestrian crossing, with the back of her car blocking part of the crossing. Had I really been on my toes, I could have ignored her and stepped in front of her car, and got hit. I would have thrown my weight upwards and backwards and landed across her hood (bonnet for you non-US readers) with probably nothing more serious than a couple of bruises. But I wasn't thinking quite that clearly, or opportunistically, or right now I'd be lying on an Ambulance stretcher giving my statement to a police officer. With me would have been my coworker, a government employee, not as above reproach (in the eyes of the law) as a Police Officer, but still a more than credible witness. I would have also ensured the bus driver did not leave the scene, and thus acquired a second government employee as my witness.
Of course knowing my luck, after she hit me, the girl would probably have floored it right into the intersection in a foolish attempt to flee the scene (coz that's just my luck) and she would have either rammed another car, or I would have gone flying and bouncing down the road and really hurt myself.
Maybe it's for the better that I didn't seize the moment and launch an unethical operation, which could have netted a small fortune.
Liz, don't be too mad. Yeah, maybe I passed up an easy opportunity to score a few hundred thousand dollars, but the potential for me to have been seriously hurt if I did jump in front of her is fairly high, not to mention, what if she was one of those thousands of drivers who don't have insurance.
Yah, there's a reason why honest people don't usually participate in dishonest activities.
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2 comments:
ok, then.
I've thought of doing something like that before. especially when the driver obviously has no regard for other pedestrians or drivers on the road.
The only drawback of such an act here is that the drivers will run you down and they will not feel any guilt over it.
I can't tell you the number of times I've nearly been hit by a bus...and I wasn't even in the street!
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