Me - The Champion of Morons Everywhere
The other night I saved the life of someone who, in retrospect, would have done a greater service to humanity by being removed from the gene pool.
I was heading south on a three lane, one way road in downtown DC (19th St). The left two lanes were pretty backed up, but I was moving along at a decent clip (~25-30 MPH) in the right hand lane, with no cars in front of me. I approached the intersection of 19th and I St, and saw that the light was green and had been so for roughly twenty seconds, with an additional twenty seconds remaining before turning back to red.
Right before the end of the intersection, on my left, was a bus that was stopped right before the crosswalk. It couldn't move forward because, like I said, that lane was backed up.
As I move along side it, a pedestrian steps out from in front of the bus.
This gentleman, in trendy clothing with a tousled, 20-something haircut, with his headphones in and his eyes squarely fixed on his phone or MP3 player, crossed a busy street on a red light directly into an open lane that was visually obstructed so he could not see the oncoming traffic.
I have never slammed on my brakes so hard, nor produced such a skid, nor come so close to killing someone. The front of my car came within inches of breaking his legs. INCHES. I threw on my horn in anger at his stupidity and out of pure adrenaline. Everyone on the sidewalk was already looking. A few had their hands over their mouths out of fear because of how close I'd come.
This man, if he can be called that, barely broke his stride. He didn't look up. He didn't turn around. He just kept on walking. The totally preoccupied, entitled, self-involved, unaware moron of an asshole wouldn't give me the satisfaction of looking him in the eye.
By the time I had regained the presence of mind to roll down my window and say something, he was long gone, and I moved on.
I wish my brakes had failed.
Here's a little diagram. I apologize for the crudity of this drawing, I didn't have time to properly color it or draw it to scale.
I was heading south on a three lane, one way road in downtown DC (19th St). The left two lanes were pretty backed up, but I was moving along at a decent clip (~25-30 MPH) in the right hand lane, with no cars in front of me. I approached the intersection of 19th and I St, and saw that the light was green and had been so for roughly twenty seconds, with an additional twenty seconds remaining before turning back to red.
Right before the end of the intersection, on my left, was a bus that was stopped right before the crosswalk. It couldn't move forward because, like I said, that lane was backed up.
As I move along side it, a pedestrian steps out from in front of the bus.
This gentleman, in trendy clothing with a tousled, 20-something haircut, with his headphones in and his eyes squarely fixed on his phone or MP3 player, crossed a busy street on a red light directly into an open lane that was visually obstructed so he could not see the oncoming traffic.
I have never slammed on my brakes so hard, nor produced such a skid, nor come so close to killing someone. The front of my car came within inches of breaking his legs. INCHES. I threw on my horn in anger at his stupidity and out of pure adrenaline. Everyone on the sidewalk was already looking. A few had their hands over their mouths out of fear because of how close I'd come.
This man, if he can be called that, barely broke his stride. He didn't look up. He didn't turn around. He just kept on walking. The totally preoccupied, entitled, self-involved, unaware moron of an asshole wouldn't give me the satisfaction of looking him in the eye.
By the time I had regained the presence of mind to roll down my window and say something, he was long gone, and I moved on.
I wish my brakes had failed.
Here's a little diagram. I apologize for the crudity of this drawing, I didn't have time to properly color it or draw it to scale.