Pedestrians and Automobiles

My guess is that except for downtown districts in major North American cities, pedestrians are losing the battle of fair use of the road. I know because I have two dogs.

I can proudly say that we are good dog owners. Rain or shine, 30 plus or minus degrees, we walk our dogs 2 to 3 times a day. As a result, we have had our share of near misses during we ritual pounding of the pavement in the past three years. These experiences give me the authority to say that many drivers have already forgotten the fact that they are SHARING the road with people. Living, breathing people with nothing more than a few layers of clothing to protect them from a 3000lb moving metal.

Drivers have got to remember that stop signs and traffic lights are put on side streets not only to direct their turns, but also give pedestrians a chance to cross the road safely. Too many times have I been in a situation where a driver on the left turn lane would just step on the gas and negotiate the turn without first checking for pedestrians. Some would screech to a halt once they realized their carelessness, others would just drive around me and gave me the dirty look, as if to say "how dare you cross the road when I am turning!" Excuse me?

Let me give you an another example. When I was walking my dogs this evening, I heard someone got into a car and started the engine. The sound came from the next driveway. I instinctively slowed down and grabbed a tighter hold on my leashes. Low and behold, the driver of a car parked on that driveway shifted to the reverse gear, and without hesitating for a second he started to back out. In his mind, his only concern was whether there were cars coming from either side of the street. The thought of a pedestrian might be walking on the sidewalk and that he may be causing harm to that person never flashed across that preoccupied mind. I stood on the pavement, fixating my stare at him the whole time he was backing out. The only time he noticed my furious gaze was after his four wheels hit the street and he turned his head to look forward as he was shifting the gears. Was there a hint of guilt? No. Was there an apologetic wave of hand? No. He just drove off as if he has done nothing wrong. That's what pedestrians have been dealing with daily.

Besides, I don't think the government cares much about pedestrian safety either. Here is a question for you, why does the city install those pedestrian press button system in the busy intersections? Why do I have to press the button to make that walking green man shows up in the light box if I want to cross the road? Why can't the city make that little green man shows up every time the traffic light turns green? Cars can still make the turn if there is no one crossing the street. I just don't get it. Is pedestrians crossing the road any less important than drivers making a turn? We both have destinations to reach.

This exposes a fundamental problem with the system. Instead of protecting the vulnerable ones, it is designed to favor drivers with greater right to access the road. That hardly seems fair.

I have made a pack with myself a long time ago. I will pay attention to all pedestrians at all time, and, within reason, I will let them cross the road first before I make my move. After all, I am sitting in a steel wrapped contraption and enclosed in a air-conditioned environment. I can wait.

Bigger is not better, says me!

One thing about me that you need to know is that I am always in the mood for car shopping. 24/7. 365 days a year.

My last car purchase was 2 years and 5 months ago. Before I drove the car off the lot I was already thinking what would our next car be. I just can't help myself. I love "window shopping" for cars. Honestly I don't even care if I am shopping for myself or others. Give me a reason, need not be a good one, and I will be in front of a computer all over car websites like flies on dung.

One of the quests I am on right now is to find a replacement for my 2003 Toyota RAV4. Our requirements are simple:

• It should have similar capacity as our RAV4, which has yet to disappoint us in its ability to swallow anything we threw at it - bookshelves, leather couches, 600 lbs of gym equipments, home appliances, etc.
• But not too long or too big, Amy afraid she won't be able to handle it
• Doors must be lower to the ground than the RAV, because as our dogs gets older, we won't want them to jump too high to get in and out of the car. We will prefer to have them walk up to car, and walk off from it.

We liked the new Toyota Venza, because it nearly fitted all of our requirements. The car was roomy, lower entrance than an SUV, powerful but efficient 3.5 litre v6 engine, etc. But my interest in the car was unexpectedly turned off by the most unlikely reason - the tire size. Why on the god's green earth would Toyota put a set of freaking 20" tires on a family crossover? I didn't think Sportiness was being one of its main selling features. Was it designed to be a trendy car for youngsters to drive around town and get noticed? I seriously doubt that because if I was 10 years younger I wouldn't want to get caught in that. Or was it because some panel studies suggested that 20" was the way to go? Why wasn't I in that panel to suggest otherwise?

Make no mistake, Toyota has always been a dull brand. Reliable, but dull as a butter knife. The lackluster appeal to younger generations is partially attributed to the boring design, but more to the point is the uncharacteristic driving dynamic that can put granny to sleep. But I don't care. Venza is supposed to be functional and practical, not sporty or flamboyant. Putting 20" tires in all corners does not transform the car into an exciting beast. I really don't see how the extra inches in the tire size can accomplish anything other than stiffing consumers with extra expenses. I am a chicken and I need my snow tires in winter even when I am driving an all-wheel-drive vehicle. You just can't be too safe, you know. Do you know how much it would cost to get a set of 20" SNOW TIRES? It is $500 more expensive than the 18" variant of the same brand! And if you want to save that $500, you will have to first invest money on a set of 18" steel rims. Do they even have 18" steel rims? And let's not even start to think about summer tires.

I must be fair in my complain, Toyota is not the only company that is supersizing its tire selections, the new Mercedez Benz GLK also wears 20" slippers.

May be it is the way to go. A decade or two ago, 14" was the norm. So may be in one day 20" will become a new standard. But in order for that to happen, the tire industry will have to first make those supersized tires affordable. Until then, Venza is benched.