Great post! A few things I would add, having thought about crossing the street for a while:
When looking left and right, let your eyes briefly wander to the horizon on each side, or as far as possible until your view is obstructed. If there are blind spots (such as those created by parked cars), or road curvature that makes it difficult to see past some distance, it’s better to consciously note that and adjust strategy accordingly, rather than just assuming that if you don’t see a car coming, it isn’t there. (There’s also something really satisfying about looking at the horizon. I’ve also heard it’s good for the eyes.)
Related to the above, if your view is obstructed, you want to edge into the crossing slowly and take another look once you are past the obstruction.
It’s good to make use of both sound and peripheral vision as you approach a crossing. In most cases, even before you get to the curb, you should have a sense of the oncoming traffic, based on the sound, though you may not have a precise sense of its speed and direction. Starting to pay attention a few feet before you are at the crossing is a good idea.
When looking at oncoming traffic, you should be able to get a general sense both for how fast it’s going and whether it’s slowing down for the crossing or for you (if the crossing has a pedestrian right of way). Generally, if a car isn’t showing signs of slowing down as expected, I will wait at the crossing until it slows down or passes. I generally only cross if I’m confident that the driver’s speed is slow enough that I can cross even if they don’t slow down (with a large margin), or it looks like their foot is already on the brake.
Many of these habits are also useful for driving, and probably more important there given the greater speeds involved, and it’s good practice to start building this mental model early on.
Great post! A few things I would add, having thought about crossing the street for a while:
When looking left and right, let your eyes briefly wander to the horizon on each side, or as far as possible until your view is obstructed. If there are blind spots (such as those created by parked cars), or road curvature that makes it difficult to see past some distance, it’s better to consciously note that and adjust strategy accordingly, rather than just assuming that if you don’t see a car coming, it isn’t there. (There’s also something really satisfying about looking at the horizon. I’ve also heard it’s good for the eyes.)
Related to the above, if your view is obstructed, you want to edge into the crossing slowly and take another look once you are past the obstruction.
It’s good to make use of both sound and peripheral vision as you approach a crossing. In most cases, even before you get to the curb, you should have a sense of the oncoming traffic, based on the sound, though you may not have a precise sense of its speed and direction. Starting to pay attention a few feet before you are at the crossing is a good idea.
When looking at oncoming traffic, you should be able to get a general sense both for how fast it’s going and whether it’s slowing down for the crossing or for you (if the crossing has a pedestrian right of way). Generally, if a car isn’t showing signs of slowing down as expected, I will wait at the crossing until it slows down or passes. I generally only cross if I’m confident that the driver’s speed is slow enough that I can cross even if they don’t slow down (with a large margin), or it looks like their foot is already on the brake.
Many of these habits are also useful for driving, and probably more important there given the greater speeds involved, and it’s good practice to start building this mental model early on.