Argentinas outrageous Road Toll

[Joe]

I was crossing the street the other day and looked behind be to see if anyone was making a left turn into the street I was crossing. Sure enough someone was and knowing my peasant like status as a pedestrian to the aristocratic driver I meekly retreated back onto the curb. Now this is the weird thing:

The driver hand motioned to me to go ahead and cross - first time that has ever happened to me in this city. Of course we know the guy was a tourist.

Sorry to offend but this is a sign of a third world city. The more advanged a civilization is the more rights and respect is accorded to the pedestrian.

 

[Joe]

In many places in the US (except probably California), crosswalk paint is nearly a waste of money. Everyone creeps out into the crosswalk, particularly right-turn-on-red (which I know isn't allowed here, but that doesn't explain it).

Any theories?

Most parts of California, pedestrians do not and have never existed. In the urban areas, especially San Francisco, the pedestrian rules - exactly the opposite of here.

In San Francisco, often I will be at an intersection and the car can easily make a turn in front of me without even coming close but 95% of drivers wait and I feel obligated to hurry across. Sometimes I motion the driver to go ahead so I can cross at leisure but usually they won't do that.

I've seen bicyclist pounding on cars in SF for making the smallest infraction - like creeping into crosswalks.

Cars suck! Imagine BA without cars and buses, back when street cars ruled. It would be close to Nirvana.

 

[Grazie]

Joe, coming from Southern California, the lights are timed so the crosswalks are in synch with the lights being red so pedestrians can cross safely. Especially if there is a beeping sound (for the sight impaired aka blind). You can get a ticket for not making the blind cross the street safely.
The allowable by law turn to the right on a red light is called _ California Roll (like the sushi!).
In New York the pedestrian has a right of way - you could get a $500.00 ticket for doing otherwise.

 

[SilverStar]

I drive professionaly here, so there is everything to be seen unfortunately.
You see especially in the lower income southern suburbs babies and children not in child seats. There is excessive tailgating, and weaving in and out with only a needle to spare, all in tiny little cars without airbags. There is a very low seatbelt usage rate in the provinces as well. Also a factor on the autopista, high speed 'varience' you have the speed demons in their Peugeot 207's weaving in and out, and the old beat up clunkers going way under the minimun speed, a deadly combination. Many cars also are running on bald tires headlight out, or very dim, etc. It's pretty much the worst of all worlds. I also think there is less emphasis on driver education in the public schools. I've been told driving in Rome is worse! The motorcycles are the most dangerous of all, they 'whiteline' all day, and use thier tiny little horns before squeezing through, or passing on your right, when you have your right turn signal on anyway (crazy) I see down motos all the time. Pedestrians routinely Jay Walk...
Fred
www.silverstarcar.com

 

[djlinse37]

I agree with everything that has been said about the drivers above.

I have noticed one very odd thing though, and I wonder if anyone else has. As much as pedestrians are targets when cars are moving/turning, did you ever notice how much driver's respect the crosswalk when they are stopped at a red light? In 10 months of walking, I can probably count the number of times that I've seen a car in the stopped middle of the crosswalk on one hand. But it would take several hands at least to count the number of times that I've seen drivers (even taxi drivers) stop at a light, realize they are in the crosswalk and *BACK* *UP* to clear the crosswalk. I'm sure it happens more in the busier areas, particular during the busiest times, but I've walked across Santa Fe, 9 de Julio, Pelligrini turning on to Libertador during very busy times, and they always seems clear.

...

Any theories?

To follow-up on my own thoughts, today while in a taxi, I saw someone stop in the crosswalk on Rodriguez Pena and about Las Heras. They were most of the way through with only the rear wheels in the cross-walk. They put on their back-up lights, but a car came up behind them and didn't leave room initially (it later backed up a bit too), and people started to cross behind the car. There wasn't a break big enough for the car to back up. After about 20 or 30 seconds, a police officer came walking up and started writing a ticket! On the green, the car crossed and stopped on the other side. I wonder what the fine was.

That's about the first ticket that I've seen given out in nearly 10 months of walking in the streets of BsAs (mostly in Retiro/Recoleta).

 

[djlinse37]

I was crossing the street the other day and looked behind be to see if anyone was making a left turn into the street I was crossing. Sure enough someone was and knowing my peasant like status as a pedestrian to the aristocratic driver I meekly retreated back onto the curb. Now this is the weird thing:

The driver hand motioned to me to go ahead and cross - first time that has ever happened to me in this city. Of course we know the guy was a tourist.

Sorry to offend but this is a sign of a third world city. The more advanged a civilization is the more rights and respect is accorded to the pedestrian.

I've had any number of people motion me across, including taxi drivers. (I'll admit, often with my daughter in her stroller.) I've also had any number of others yell and honk.

I wouldn't say this is a sign of a third world city. Before moving here, I lived in Washington, DC. Pedestrians nominally had the right of way there, but in reality, it was nearly as hard to cross a street there as here. And in a infamous case of a year or so ago, ask the guy on the bike run over by Robert Novak, the columnist:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11985.html

(To be fair here, he was soon after diagnosed with brain cancer.)