Pedestrians and Cars
Cars drive around campus as if it were a raceway, speeding by pedestrians that walk along sidewalks of campus. As soon as you step one foot off the sidewalk to cross the street, a car comes racing down the road, zooming past stop signs. Other times, when attempting to cross the street to Hofstra USA (HofUSA) or Dutch Treats, cars just fly by without stopping to let individuals cross the street.
I have experienced this a number of times on campus while walking around on my own or with my group of friends. Most times before I cross the street, I look down the street to see if any cars are approaching. Other times, I stand at the crosswalk to observe if that car will drive through or let me walk across. Most of the time these drivers speed up to the stop sign and roll right through it. I have to ponder if these individuals see others standing there to cross the street or see the stop sign.
What happened to the “yield to pedestrians” rule? If there are pedestrians, they have the right of way to cross in a safe manner. The stop sign is placed there to allow individuals to cross safely to the other side. At HofUSA, there are two yellow speed bumps placed in the road to slow down drivers. Drivers at HofUSA drive by as if pedestrians are invisible. In one such incident, my friend and I were leaving HofUSA and were attempting to cross the street. As soon as we stepped foot on the street, we observed a car down the road. I mentioned to my friend that I wouldn’t be surprised if the car didn’t stop or slow down. Seconds later, the car did just that.
My friend and I ran into another “incident” on campus in early November. My friend and I were walking on the north side of campus by Colonial Square on Colonial Drive and Field 6B, near the baseball field. We were enjoying the scenery along the walk and looking at the colorful leaves on the trees during our relaxing walk before we headed in for the night. We decided to cross Colonial Drive to the sidewalk alongside Field 6B. There were cars driving by us as we were walking along Northern Boulevard. When we came to the crosswalk to cross Hofstra Boulevard, we saw a car coming from the north direction to the south direction. We stopped at the crosswalk to observe what this car would do. The car did not halt at the stop sign. Instead, the car zoomed by as if we were invisible. I feel frustrated that each time I have to go out, I have to walk on eggshells. How can pedestrians be seen by the drivers? I have to ponder this. Sometimes at night, cars have their lights on so bright that I feel blinded even when attempting to cross the street, mainly at HofUSA.
Due to this, I feel at times that I am going to get run over by a car on campus. If we have laws and rules in place, drivers should be able to follow them. If a driver sees a pedestrian, just note we are not invisible. At times with my friend, I feel that we are invisible. Other times, I feel they notice us and just speed through. We are standing there to cross the street in a safe manner. Drivers eventually become pedestrians. Pedestrians should feel safe when crossing the street.
