OK, maybe I was a bit, um, brutish. But…
I was driving north on Rockland Main St. Friday when a nicely dressed pedestrian couple crossed the street in mid-block, forcing me and others to stop and wait for them to cross.
“Please use the crosswalk next time,” I yelled out the window. Yes, I said “please” but yes, my tone was a bit demanding and maybe an epithet was implied.
But an SUV with New York plates pulled up next to me and the guy yelled something like, “Oh, so you wanted to be on that guy’s bumper so much quicker?” (pointing to the van in front of me).
As if I was the jerk here.
OK, he has a point. What’s my hurry? And why be a jerk, which I have to admit, maybe I was.
But the real point regarding jaywalking in Maine for me is:
- We have a law that cars must stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. It’s mostly respected and sometimes even enforced.
- The crosswalks are clearly marked and plentiful.
- If everyone crosses as the designated crosswalks, traffic flows smoothly and nobody gets mad.
- I don’t come to your state and walk in the street. Please reciprocate.
But I also see the other point: yelling at clueless tourists is also not entirely nice and should be avoided.