For several months, I've had a problem crossing a street on my regular route to a local park. The pedestrian crosswalk is clearly marked, and there are even signs with solar-powered flashing lights. Big whoop, nobody stops for a geezer. Most drivers keep on exceeding the posted 35 mph limit. I got halfway across the street one day, in clear view, when a woman almost a block away hit the gas -- and if I hadn't stopped at the center line, she would have knocked me into the next week.
So I conducted a little experiment. I took my newfangled smartphone, punched the video button, and held it up in front of me as I approached
the crosswalk. Suddenly, traffic slowed, then stopped to let me cross. I could barely believe it....see for yourself.
A few minutes later, I crossed again, but this time, I kept the smartphone down by my side and out of direct sight. Almost immediately, a van pulled up at the corner behind me, then wheeled past and almost flattened my left foot. As I stood in mid-street, other cars zoomed by, ignoring me and the flashing pedestrian sign. Finally, I ran for it....
Now for those of you who don't have a fancy-pants smartphone, there are options. Take a small, white or black greeting card box or any box about the same size as a smartphone, and paste some dark cellophane over one side. Heck, you probably don't need to be so elaborate -- got an old garage door opener? Go for it. If you get run over, your heirs can seek treble damages because you were obviously just an old geezer. The jurors will weep.
The main thing is that if you act like you've got a smartphone, drivers will think it's a smartphone, and they will fear being caught on video. Yeah it sounds kinda dumb, but it could be just smart enough to save your life.
