Today we cover the finer points of crossing a street:

1) Go to an intersection or a marked crosswalk.
2) Look both ways, even on a one way street, to ensure there are no cars coming, or, alternately, to make sure the cars that are coming can see you.
3) Walk briskly across the street in a straight line, pperpindicular to the side you are crossing from.

Please note: This is not “back home,” “where you used to live,” or “the safe neighborhood.” This is the Phoenix Metropolitan area, where anything outside of the crosswalk will be considered in the crosshair.

This afternoon, while I was driving west on Indian School Road, just west of 19th Ave., a man stepped off the curb (ignoring rule 2) and lollygagged across the street (breaking rule 3) not even fifteen feet away from a marked, signed, highlighted crosswalk (rule 1). That’s right, folks, he scored a trifecta!

This would have been a perfect score if I had not seen him veer toward the street and pre-emptively slammed on my brakes. I say perfect, because if I did not have the situational awareness needed to stay accident free for all my years of driving in Phoenix, he would have been my new hood ornament. He stepped off no more than six feet in front of my bumper. Never even looked my way. My guess is he assumed that since he had crossed the street all his life in that same manner where he used to live (hint: it’s south of here – way south), he could do it here also.

I am willing to bet a dollar he becomes a statistic within three months.

Sadly, he joins the ranks of the Obliviots.