The Editor,
Re. "Parents, nag your children" (Letters, The Tri-City News, Nov. 23).
The headline on Lisa Bunnage's letter should also read "Children, nag your parents."
I agree that children need to be coached in safe pedestrian habits - and parents/guardians/schools do this - but let's document a few facts:
Pedestrians have a right to safe passage on our sidewalks and thoroughfares.
Drivers have the privilege to drive.
Ms. Bunnage seems to suggest that the onus is on the pedestrian - not true. Drivers need to be aware of the fall and winter conditions and drive appropriately. This includes keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
It is an onerous responsibility to be a driver, so take it seriously. It would seem that many drivers these days simply drive mechanically. How many actually do what is required regularly while driving, such as...
Watch the road ahead - anticipate.
Check the periphery - what's happening around you.
Check rear and side mirrors.
Check gauges on dash
Don't get distracted by what's happening in the car - if you are, pull over.
As a driver, I have been rear-ended while stopped at a pedestrian crossing by a driver who wasn't driving properly and, as a pedestrian, I've almost been hit countless times on the new Coast Meridian four-lane freeway at pedestrian crossings. I have been verbally abused by a truck driver for having the audacity to cross at a crossing. In one instance, I was almost hit by a truck from a local quarry that simply plowed through the crossing while the other three lanes had stopped for me - and the driver was on his cell phone at the time.
When people actually learn from what they've been taught, we'll all be safer.
Brian Wormald,Port Coquitlam
