This letter is in response Jackie Sharp’s Letter to the Editor in Thursday, Sept. 4’s issue of the Northern Star.

As a commuter who parks my car and then walks to classes, I fully understand and appreciate your frustration with drivers who are not considerate of pedestrians. There are some drivers out there who do not understand the rules of the road. However, I must say, there are some pedestrians and bicyclists out there who do not seem to understand either.

In response to your “drivers, be aware!”, I would like to reply with “pedestrians/bicyclists be aware!” According to the Illinois Rules of the Road retrieved from www.il.gov, “Drivers and pedestrians both are responsible for traffic safety.”

Pedestrians and bicyclists, too, need to understand the rules of the road. A red light, accompanied by a left green arrow for people turning left from Lucinda onto Normal Road, means drivers are to turn left (when determining if it is safe to do so). It does not mean pedestrians crossing Normal should walk. That is what the “walk” sign means. Some intersections do not actually say “walk” but have that little man walking. This too means pedestrians may cross the street. That big red hand, or the words “Don’t Walk” mean just that. Don’t walk pedestrians! (Same goes for you bicyclists).

According to Chapter 5 of the Illinois Rules of the Road, “Pedestrians must yield the right-of-way to drivers by obeying traffic signals, observing walk lights and using crosswalks.”

This also goes for bicyclists. According to chapter 20 in rules of the road, “Bicycle riders, as well as drivers, must obey all traffic signs and signals.”

Furthermore, I will, without hesitation, “obnoxiously lay on the horn” while pedestrians and bicyclists attempt to cross at inappropriate times. I do realize the law states that pedestrians always have the right-of-way. There is no law however that says I can not honk my horn if a pedestrian is not obeying the traffic device signal. If I have a green arrow, and you have a red light, you better move, or you will hear the wrath of my horn.

Ironically, on Tuesday Sept. 2, a little after 11:00 am, I did just this. While I am a female driver, I do not happen to drive a sedan, nor was I in front of Swen Parson. There was however a group of pedestrians and an inconsiderate cyclist at the crosswalk, crossing on my arrow. Because of this, I angrily laid on my horn. I yielded of course, but I made sure you heard my anger through my horn. Oddly enough, the cyclist had the nerve to look at me like I am the bad guy. Bicycle riders: Do not complain if you do not know the rules of the road. “Be more considerate.”

Now I understand that at crosswalks without traffic control signals, such as those in front of Swen Parson, the driver must especially yield. There are laws for this too at the site you mentioned. I also realize that times like these do not call for a blast of my car horn.

I would like to make it perfectly clear though, to all of you pedestrians and cyclists, that it is not safe for you to attempt to cross in front of left turners when they have an arrow. I also ask that you do not even enter the cross walk until you officially have a green light and we no longer have our green arrow. This “going halfway” business is annoying and we do not realize if you are trying to race out in front of us or going to actually stop in the middle of the road to wait for your “walk” signal.

Chapter 5 of Rules of the Road agrees to this: “Pedestrians must not run or walk into the path of a moving vehicle.”

While I realize NIU has tried to help commuters by placing crossing guards and/or police officers at intersections to stop the inconsiderate pedestrians and cyclists, this still seems to be a problem. Either everyone (drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike) needs to study their rules of the road, or we will continue to call each other “inconsiderate” and “obnoxious horn layers.”

Perhaps, NIU needs to place more crossing guards at more intersections- INCLUDING Lucinda and Normal after 11:00 am.

Jean Marie Cores,

Senior

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.