Stop – Wait – Wave

The people of Maine may be on to something.
At a recent meeting of the Cape Issues group, Randy Bauer mentioned that he had recently been in Camden, Maine, where he took note of the way they handle crosswalks, which is rather different from what we do here in New Jersey. As you can see by the photo Randy took, they instruct pedestrians crossing the street to first stop at the intersection, wait for the approaching car to see you there, wave at the driver to get his acknowledgement, and then cross.
Several years back, in an effort to address a large number of pedestrian accidents, New Jersey passed a law that requires cars to yield to pedestrians at intersections in certain circumstances. People took note of the law and there was a push by law enforcement to enforce it.
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Here in New Jersey, most pedestrians
and drivers seem to be stepping back from
the law, apparently having found it unworkable.
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Now, several years later, most pedestrians and drivers seem to be stepping back from the law, apparently having found it largely unworkable. I say this because I now see people standing visibly in the street and nine or 10 cars pass before one stops, including police cars. And no longer do we hear of sheriff’s officers stopping cars in Court House for failing to yield.
When the law first was instituted, I remember a number of people railing against it as unsafe. Our home is on Atlantic Avenue in Wildwood Crest, and we noted then from our rockers on the front porch a number of times when a car would stop for a person, but the car behind the stop car would loop around the stopped car on the right, and not see the pedestrian. We never saw an accident but we did see incidences that concerned us.
It appears now that most people are being more logical – but not everyone. Just a few weeks back a couple stepped right out in front of my car at night, and they were wearing dark clothes. Fortunately, I saw them in time, but it made me shake my head.
To my point; the people of Camden, Maine, are unambiguous in what is expected. Here in New Jersey, we might take a lesson from them.
PS: After drafting this column, I gave it to a coworker to proofread. She exclaimed with animation, “It’s funny you are writing this. It has always annoyed me that we have this law. I don’t like it when cars stop for me because the car coming from the other direction might not see me. So I stand way back and wait until the way is all clear. On the other hand I have a neighbor who just walks right out in front of cars, and says, ‘They’ll stop for me.’ He’s going to get hit. The Camden, Maine, way of doing it is a good idea.”
From the Bible
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. Proverbs 3: 9-10