Reckless driving not okay

For the most part I get highly annoyed with Kelowna drivers pretty much on a daily basis. If you leave space between yourself and the vehicle in front of you it will end up filled with a mini that ‘just fits’ or there’s the jacked up truck that doesn’t care if he is taking up his lane plus half of yours. These are minor offences and since I myself tend to park offensively  more often than not. I figure it all evens out in the end, so I keep my commentary to myself.

Today I witness something so disturbing that I felt necessary to inform the world.

I was driving down Westgate road on the westside behind a school bus, ahead of the bus was a black Ford F150.  We all came around the corner to a ‘very visible to see’ pedestrian crosswalk light flashing by the Rose Valley turn off. All 3 of us slowed to a stop as a woman was walking across the street. Apparently despite doing everything right, walking at a crosswalk and engaging the signal before walking, she was walking much too slow for this big black truck. Clearly where he had to go was so much more important than this woman’s safe crossing.  He hit the gas and swerved to drive around her and speed off on his merry way, leaving this poor woman who was very visibly shaken, running across the road in fear that we were all going to follow in this atrocious behaviour.  

She had the right of way 100% and this person couldn’t be bothered to give her the extra 30 seconds she was taking to cross the street. I believe in karma, so I will use this as a reminder that we have a responsibility as drivers to obey crosswalks and school zones and that big stop sign that pops out from the bus, because they are meant to make people feel safe in way that this woman today, was not given.

Erin O'Brien