Friday 13 January 2012

Seeing Red

Yesterday, as I left home to go to my doc's clinic for my appointment, I was thinking to myself how much I wish I could have a nap instead.  Walking up the gentle hill that is my street was a chore.  I was holding my belly, which felt like a heavy backpack that I happened to be wearing on the front. Also, I was running out of breath really quickly.

I turned round the corner onto the main street and decided there was too much traffic to risk crossing the road from any spot other than the Pedestrian Traffic Lights - even though it meant adding an extra few metres to my journey.  I was too tired and did not trust my reflexes nor speed - and therefore deemed it too dangerous to do otherwise.

So slowly, I waddled up to the Traffic Lights, pressed the button, and waited patiently for the lights to give me the go-ahead.

Now, I understand that Traffic Lights don't work in the same way everywhere - some places don't have an Amber light.... and other places have a Turquoise light rather than Green. The one thing they all have in common is that Red means STOP.

In my case, the lights facing me had a Red Guy, and a Green Guy, and to the oncoming cars, there were the classic Red, Amber and Green lights.

As the lights turned Amber for the cars, two heroes sped through.  I thought to myself "Fair enough." as after all, Amber doesn't meant STOP RIGHT NOW so it is not uncommon for people to try and speed through it.

A couple of seconds later,  the Traffic Lights aimed for vehicles finally turned Red, and the Green Guy lit up.  I waited a few seconds anyway before crossing the road, still catching my breath.

Good thing I did!

Some blooming idiot decided that Traffic Lights or not, Pregnant Woman dressed in RAINBOW FRIGGIN COLOURS or not, it was a brilliant idea to run a Red light.

My reaction must have been pretty comical to watch.  I looked like a cross between a New Yorker hailing down a cab, and an Angry Nazi saluting.  Only in my case, my arm was raised to indicate the Traffic Lights, and my words were swearwords implying that the Driver who has run the risk of running me over was a Twat.


Needless to say, a few moments later, I angrily updated Facebook off my phone, wishing this particular driver and any others who act in the same irresponsible way, to be afflicted by Anal Warts to at least justify their rush into getting home.  I am not one to wish harm upon others - or at least, I try not to be.  If I simply have to get it out of my system though, I try and limit the harm to something non-deadly and mainly irritating.  Pretty much like the scientist guy from Mystery Men.

Dr A Heller demonstrating one of his non-lethal weapons.

This episode, besides from pissing me off, got me thinking.  Too often I observe people pushing prams/pushchairs without giving it a second thought.  I recall my mother telling me to always pull a Pram behind me when  crossing a street, lest a car doesn't stop in time and hits the pram, thus injuring Baby.  Whilst being sound advice, I feel it might be a bit too complicated to stick to at all times.  

Therefore, we'll take a realistic approach to it all. Please do make sure to strap very young children into pushchairs. Whenever pushing a young child in a pram or pushchair, do not push the pram/pushchair into the road when checking to see if it is clear to cross, particularly from between parked vehicles.



Once your child starts walking, make sure to use reins or hold their hand[s] firmly whenever in  a street, ensuring they walk on the 'inside' part of the pavement.  This will ensure that should they fall flat on their face, it won't lead to them flying off the pavement into the street and potentially run over by an oncoming vehicle.

Also, please make sure to teach your children to always look at both sides of the road at least twice before crossing - as even though they might be attempting to cross a one-way street, irresponsible drivers can very easily show up, speeding down the wrong way.

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