Pedestrian Mantra - Watch Out!!

In New Zealand (and we are learning in Australia), the car has the right of way - not the pedestrian. Even when one is raised to "look both ways before crossing the street," the traffic rules here are totally opposite of what we expect.

First of all, the cars come from a different direction than we anticipate (see previous post). Additionally, cars simply don't stop for peds. Even when there are marked crossings, you have to practically run for your life.

I asked a local about this. He laughed and said, "Didn't you see that blinking signal next to the traffic light? Look for the picture of the man walking." I assured him that I had looked, and the lights are the major issue. It is mostly when crossing the street in a cross walk.

I promise that we are looking both ways - TWICE! I've heard that traffic in other countries can get pretty harrowing, so NZ & Aussie traffic shouldn't scare us. Hopefully, we'll break the habit of assuming that drivers don't want to kill walkers.