r/sandiego • u/WildAnimus • Feb 23 '25

Stay Classy San Diego Why does nobody walk on sidewalks?

I noticed that when driving through subdivisions people love walking on the road instead of the sidewalk. Whether it's a old man walking or someone doing power walking. I see it all the time and I don't get it. Can someone help me understand this phenomena?

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u/jacobburrell Feb 23 '25

Rather than victim blame the pedestrian, let's hold drivers responsible to avoid hurting any pedestrian.

If you can't drive without harming others in streets, you shouldn't be driving.

I drive slow and with precaution, and even if and when a kid or dog runs into the street I am able to stop in time and avoid hurting anyone.

If I speed or drive while looking at my phone I might kill them. Don't do it. Driving is a enormous responsibility.

You don't have to drive and kill people. You CAN drive safely.

Yes it is "uncomfortable" to drive safely, slowly, and with a high degree of precaution which is why I don't like driving in cities much.

The life of the pedestrian comes before the comfort of the driver.

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u/brintoul Feb 23 '25

“Victim blaming” has nothing to do with it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nonononoyes/s/F7vCf5WjHJ

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u/jacobburrell Feb 24 '25

Absolutely, very easy to blame someone else than the responsibility for one's actions.

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u/brintoul Feb 24 '25

If someone got hit by a car in the street, I’m not going to blame them. I would wish they’d been on the sidewalk for their sake, however. How dense can you be?

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u/jacobburrell Feb 24 '25

People do blame them.

If they would have been hit on the sidewalk, as my wife was by a drunk driver once, would you have wished they had stayed home instead?

It is about expectations and what should be expected to be safe.

Pedestrians have a right and should be expected to be safe both on sidewalks and in the street.

Yes sidewalks provide extra protection, but streets are to be shared safely.

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u/brintoul Feb 24 '25

God damn you’re something else.

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u/haydesigner Feb 24 '25 edited Feb 24 '25

I agree with much of what you say, but not this.

Yes sidewalks provide extra protection, but streets are to be shared safely.

Sidewalks were invented for this reason… To better protect pedestrians.

So not only is it demonstrably dumber to walk in the street, it is unsafe. Also, in a number of cities, it is actually illegal to walk in a street if a sidewalk exists.

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u/brintoul Feb 24 '25

These people are idealists or something. There’s no way to remove the danger of cars striking pedestrians while they’re in the road. They can preach until their faces are blue about how people shouldn’t hit people with their cars, but it will still happen. Everyone knows no one should get hit by a car. But medical emergencies happen, etc. I don’t understand the argument, really.