Maybe it's just me, but don't most pedestrians seem like morons around motor vehicles? Perhaps their self-preservation instincts shut off when they are walking in and around traffic. It seems abundantly obvious that motor vehicles should always have the right of way, given that in the event of a collision, people on foot stand no chance against automobiles. I understand that there are many situations where, by law, car traffic must yield to foot traffic, but I am speaking in regards to the people who will cross a street without even looking to see if the surrounding vehicles are yielding to them.
Where I come from, it doesn't matter if you, as the pedestrian, have the right of way or not: you always check to make sure you won't be hit before crossing in front of traffic. And not only do you stop and check, but you wave towards any vehicles that stopped for you, even if traffic laws dictate they stop for pedestrians. Your wave is a simple, polite way of saying, "Thank you for not running me the **** over."
There are only a few cities in the United States that I have spent time in, so maybe where I come from, we do things "wrong." That's not too hard to believe, since Wyoming is not known for being politically correct, or following the social standards commonly portrayed in the media. Instead, we often rely on common sense to dictate our standards. In this particular situation, pedestrians yield to anything with wheels, especially if it has wheels and an engine. People on bikes ride on the sidewalks wherever sidewalks are present, and they yield to cars and trucks at all times.
It seems highly illogical that bikes are supposed to ride on the roads with cars and trucks, instead of on sidewalks with skateboarders, dog-walkers, and stroller-pushers. In the even of a collision, which situation is better for all parties involved? A biker hitting/being hit by a car, or a person on foot hitting/being hit by a biker? Additionally, it is far easier for a biker or a pedestrian to dodge each other and avoid the collision entirely, than it is for a driver or a biker to do so.
Apparently that logic is lost on many people, however, as I regularly am forced to yield to the moronic bikers riding in traffic, often when they choose to go around a parked vehicle. I also find myself stopping violently as someone chooses to walk out in front of me with the expectation that I not only saw them, but that I am also willing to stop for them. I might not mind it so much if those people would wave at me when I do stop, but people around here are obviously unfamiliar with the courtesy wave.
I fear the day when I stop caring for those morons, and instead "run them the **** over" without concern or remorse.