A kind gesture that can kill

It happened again this morning. I was driving in the right hand lane on North Monroe. A car in the left hand lane had stopped for a pedestrian I couldn’t see (not in a crosswalk). The pedestrian had started across in front of the car. If I had not slowed down, alert to the thought that something like this was going on, I would have plowed right into the guy walking, because I couldn’t see him as he started his venture across.

I have witnessed at least five near misses in this mode. A driver in the left lane thinks he/she is being courteous by stopping for a pedestrian, but people in the right lane don’t know what’s going on so they speed along, oblivious.

Be kind to pedestrians, yes, and always those in crosswalks. But if you are letting them cross the street, and there’s a blind spot for other drivers, pass on the gesture. You could save a life.