Green Cross Code

I drove to Manchester today in a van. Not for kicks, but for work. Because if I was gonna drive a van to Manchester for kicks I would drive a Mercedes Sprinter Van but this was a Peugeot expert and not remotely sprint-like. It was pretty awful. To be honest I was starting to think that perhaps the van has some form of invisibility cloak around it because so many people stepped out in its path. Do people not get taught the green cross code anymore??! It’s ridiculous. I am not a dangerous driver by any stretch of the imagination and even I found myself questioning if it was me or not!! Pedestrians take ridiculous risks then shout at the car that they’re stepping in front of like it’s their fault for suddenly appearing. On a road. Where there isn’t a crossing. What disturbs me the most is that there are children crossing a dual carriageway near where I live to get to school – 20 yards down from the pelican crossing. Because it’s nearer to school, by all accounts. And when a child gets knocked down because he or she stepped out, almost playing chicken, onto a busy dual carriageway with a speed limit of 40 the parents will blame the driver. It scares me. I’m very conscientious of cyclists and pedestrians because I was taught well, but even I occasionally get caught off guard - if I’m tired, or the sun’s particularly bright, or there’s a strange noise from the car that is distracting me. What worries me is the combination of distraction and stupid driving from some of the local boy – and girl – racers, because it’s too late all too quickly when you’re doing 50 or 60mph. I’m going to write a letter to the headmaster of the school near me. And a letter to the council regarding additional crossings. I don’t ever want to see a child hurt on the road nearby – or on any road. I just think people need to be green cross coding their children again again and again, because it was drummed into me and everyone else I knew when I was growing up. I’ve drummed it into my niece and nephew. Seeing so many adults walk straight out in front of traffic today makes me wonder if anyone ever thinks about it anymore.