This PSA brought to you by several would-be assassins who tried to wave me in front of speeding cars in the last month and who will have to try harder next time.
This applies when you're a pedestrian waiting to cross too. There are always those drivers who think they're doing you a favor by stopping one of the lanes of traffic so you can walk out into the other. They smile and wave and look baffled when you don't take the bait.
yesterday a guy tried to wave me to cross then started angrily raising his hands like "FUCKING GO!" completely oblivious to the car that flew past his left side in the opposite direction
Had guy asking me to turn like that and when I refused he gave me the finger as he finally drove on. How come they hold up traffic and then get mad at you for not driving into on coming traffic?
You're right of course, but in a broader sense there is literally no action that anyone takes that is altruistic. We only do things that benefit us or, rarely, our group as a whole.
Feels like at least part of the issue is multi-lane pedestrian crossings. Most of the time that should either be single-lane, a traffic light or a tunnel/bridge.
I'm not saying you should be reckless, but too often I see people be either uninformed or unwilling to exercise their rights. To be fair, I do write with something of an urban bias, where thankfully those kinds of speeds are much less common.
If you trust every driver to follow the rules exactly and have their eyes open, you can risk your life by walking out. Otherwise you might wait anyway. And the rules about right of way depend on your country and state.
Oh god, this reminds me of a cringe mistake just after I was getting my license. I was driving up to a crosswalk and there was a kid standing next to, maybe 8 or 9, holding their hand out. You know, just like they learn at school that they should do that to make it clear they want to cross even tho the car is supposed to stop anyway. I saw this and what did I do? I thought the kid waved at me and my new license, so I just drove past and waved back. What the fuck, brain?
Generally pedestrians have the right of way at crossings (unless it's controlled with a light) in my state and neighboring states, most crosswalks even have signs that inform you to yield to pedestrians.