I know the rules over here are different as far as traffic goes but hey these pedestrian crossings are lethal.
From my apartment block to the beach you have to use a pedestrian crossing, the road is really busy and you have to step onto the crossing and hope for them to stop! Well with 2 ladies in front of me and me 5 steps behind them I felt OK that the traffic had stopped and I could cross. Only to find that the driver in the distance who had stopped for them, had not seen me and drove off within about 2 cms of my feet. One of the ladies the other side were caught in the drag as he went through and stumbled against the car. Leaving me banging on his windows and shouting at him as we tried to attract his attention. We got a shoulder shrug as he drove off!
Later on it was time to go shopping and the supermarket is across a 5 junction traffic point with just about as many pedestrian crossings on it! Well it’s mayhem as the kids leave school with cars, parents, kids everywhere. Even the Police have to come out on occasions to help ‘us’ and I don’t mean just olduns, cross the road.
Anyway it was in this state of mayhem that I was waiting at a crossing and checked left and all was clear. Crossing the road and to the right was clear. Feeling confident I walked past the first car as a motorbike decided to overtake the traffic and had to scream to a stop otherwise he’d have run over me. Drivers shouted at him but drove off as soon as they could otherwise they would have got the ‘parp, parp’ of angry motorists behind them.
Evening now and a gentle stroll along the promenade and then you see the junction with the beach road with the town’s car parking area. Always busy and another area to watch as cars and pedestrians disagree with cyclists now!
Time for a quiet refreshing drink and amazing tapas at Dixit bar. With chill out music, its a nice place to sit.
A quiet place from which you can watch the passing pedestrians and the sea is in the distance.
I love sitting here and watching the world go by as long as I get the front line seats.
There has been the option to hire a bike and cycle the lovely promenade for a long while and now the Town Hall have decided that a new blue cycle lane is needed. Hold on, did anyone tell the tourists?
It’s cut the width of the promenade in half so the tourists can’t squash up together and inevitably meander along the cycle lane.
Sitting quietly having my drink and tapas a cyclist, having to avoid a child running across the cycle way, had to swerve to avoid the child and collided with the corner of the Dixit bar, with my seat next to it. He was a good cyclist and not going too fast so no further mishap ensued.
All near misses, but if something had of happened to me then what would I have regretted most that I had not done in my life?
Incidents happen all the time, so seize life and the opportunities it gives you and if you think, ‘wow, I’ll regret not having done that when I’m older’ then perhaps it’s time to just do it!
For those that want to know, here are the Spanish rules for a pedestrian crossing
Pedestrian crossings
The Law for pedestrian crossings until recently is not as strict as in for example, the UK where a driver is always at fault if the vehicle hits a pedestrian on the crossing. You must step onto the crossing, remembering to look LEFT, and show the palm of your hand to any approaching vehicles. Previously, they still did not have to stop, but a new Law involving penalty points means that the drivers can be penalized now for not stopping. Many tourists are injured, some killed each year, for only looking right when crossing the road.
Gill Brookshaw - Recover your Life 