To drivers: Pedestrians have right-of-way

Pedestrians have the right-of-way.

On Feb. 13 I needed to fax some documents so I stopped at Office Depot in the Lowe’s shopping plaza, parked and entered the crosswalk. Fortunately for me I heard the speeding truck and realized he wasn’t going to stop, so I yelled, “Pedestrians have the right of way.”

He actually started cursing at me, saying he didn’t see me. I responded he was in a shopping center and driving “like a bat out of hell.”

I cannot count the times this has happened to me, not only there, but the Walmart parking lot as well. You can be crossing over and the cars just wiz by, never even slowing down for elderly pedestrians!

At 62 and driving since I was 16, I have never forgotten this important lesson. People today are in such a hurry with life’s responsibilities that they won’t slow down, get off their phones (either talking or texting) and its creating a world of danger for others on the roadways and in parking lots.

Please, people, remember not all of us can get out of they way. It’s your responsibility to obey the rules of the road! Watch your speed in parking centers and please stop putting us in dangerous situations. Hitting a person crossing properly in the crosswalk and hurting or killing them will change your life for all eternity.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 4:08 PM with the headline "To drivers: Pedestrians have right-of-way."