Human Opossums?

I cannot speak for other urban areas, but the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area seems to have a high level of pedestrians struck by cars as the pedestrian(s) walk across a roadway. As this area is also the citadel of "anti-carism," few are surprised that ruling politicians and appointed experts "finger" the vehicles involved in such incidents as "guilty as sin" in such events. Immediately, these politicians and appointed experts are loudly bewailing the overabundance of cars and trucks on the area roadways. This, they would have you believe, is the source of the threat to the pedestrian population. At the minimum some sort of heavy fine should be imposed on any car travelling faster than 10 miles an hour, or other absurd legislation, is bruited about on radio and television news.

The possibility that they may be aiming their legislative "thundersticks" at the wrong target is not considered, period. Why? These people are part of an America-wide, informal association, who are "agents of change" specializing in destroying the rule of the individual car in America. In their view the masses deserve only mass transportation. Why else do you call them masses?

The scenes of injurious events between people and cars are carefully measured and analyzed by police experts. If the car is at fault, then the incident is loudly covered by radio and television stations. The local Mormon-controlled WTOP never stops gasping, moaning and weeping about the dangers to pedestrians posed by cars or ceases attempting to discuss an injury to a hapless pedestrian struck in such an event. However, if the pedestrian is at fault, the story, if it emerges at all, dies quickly.

Let me say this much. In this area there are a set of "heavy-footed" drivers for whom 90 miles an hour is the least acceptable speed limit. Anyone is in danger from them. Such people are utilized by politicians and appointed experts as a pretext to penalize all cars as a threat to civilized living. The larger game afoot is the attack, using any method available, upon the operation of individual cars. According to the thinking of these people, the continuance of life on earth is in balance. For such people cars are worse than rats, or other noisome rodents or pests. Cars, therefore, must be taken to a "car pound" and put to sleep--preferably as scrap metal to feed the building frenzy in downtown Washington, D.C., where new sources of tax revenue are constantly demanded, and property taxes are perfect means of funding needed legislation, such as improved menus at government facilities.

As for pedestrians struck by cars, there must be a correlation between: "jay-walking," walking at night in the center of roads, while wearing dark clothing, walking "unconsciously" across streets while "listening to the radio" (probably at high amplification), walking across the street jabbering animatedly on the cell phone without any concern for red lights, green lights, yellow lights, or no lights at all, and the almost willful arrogance by those walking across the street in a liesurely fashion, while smirking at drivers who are forced to stop under green light conditions to let the creep safely by, and the high rate of collisions with such pedestrians.

Furthermore, due to the large numbers of immigrants to this area, there is widespread ignorance about the rules of the road, which all pedestrians should know. Many of these people may not be able to read warnings, interpret colors used as "signals," which are intended to be a warning. A word to the wise should be sufficient, but if the "word" is meaningless to a pedestrian, then the condition necessary to have a collision event is present.

Locals (I'm one) may give some bad examples to immigrants. Although we may know what we are doing in our "shortcuts," the newcomer may not. Knowledge can determine whether an event is "safe" to execute. Where there is insufficient understanding, the "safe" event may become any thing but safe.

Additionally, we have the entirely peculiar situations of immigrants and other "newcomers," coming from essentially a bicycle culture (or even less mechanically advanced), and being thrown into a satuated vehicular culture, even as the political and intellectual elite try to compel the entire society back into a bicycle culture (or worse). Crazy times in America. Put on your seat belts, folks!