Pedestrian Crossing

I got a car ride this morning from a good neighbor. This has been this way since Monday and I am a little relieved from the everyday hassle of taking a ride on a jeep and bus especially that this week seems to be a rainy week. So this is the convenience of having a car.

On our way to the office, we passed along the Global City in Fort Bonifacio. The area is really an upscale community. High rise condominiums, well-paved roads, well-kept greens and multi-cultural residents characterized the entire place. This is what posh living is. It’s around 6:45 AM and it’s a regular thing to see runners. We were passing by the Pacific Star building and 20 meters away I could see a foreign national clad in running gear talking over his mobile phone. He’s going to cross the street.

I could see that he was on a pedestrian lane and I know for a fact that vehicles should always give the pedestrian the right of way. Unfortunately the car ahead of us did not stop to wait for him to cross the lane and so was the car I am riding in. As we passed by him, I saw him gesturing that he was on a pedestrian lane but it was too late. We continued to move on.

I told my building mate what the foreign national was gesturing. “He’s so stupid. He could not decide whether to cross the street or not and he’s too busy with his call.” My building mate said. I fell silent.

I know that the pedestrian has always the right of way. If I were the driver I would have given the foreign national this right. I feel disappointed with my building mate for what he has done. However, he could have his own reason for not doing so. I just thought that maybe in that situation, the driver did just what is right because of the indecisiveness of the pedestrian.

This is always the dilemma concerning human rights. We know our freedoms but sometimes we fell short of understanding them. We used to exert them over others without realizing that we sometimes violated others rights also. I think it is not just knowing our rights but we must also know how to be responsible in exercising them.

The pedestrian could have well known his right of way but his indecisiveness because of the call he is making is very irresponsible. He is not only risking himself but also risking others too. He should have stopped on the side of the street and finish his call to avoid any doubts both from him and the driver.

Rights are not for individuals alone. They are for the collective since we live in a society or a community.