Sunday 8 Feb 2026. I was on this courtesy crossing when a van driver cut me off and yelled, “Wtf do you think you’re doing!” I said I’m on a crossing. “It’s not a f+g zebra, so I don’t have to stop!” In the heat of the moment I swore back. He started moving off, so I carried on crossing behind him. Suddenly he reversed, then drove off. Only when I felt a stinging sensation in my arm and took off my anorak did I realise his rear door handle had cut me. I’d made a note of his registration, and reported the incident, but it’s not worth taking to court. As I’ve said before, I blame drivers less than I blame the delinquent rules of the road that turn some drivers into delinquents. Given the civilised protocol of Equality, all road-users would be equal, with the vulnerable more equal than others. You wouldn’t need lights or crossings. Drivers would learn to proceed carefully in urban settings and give way sociably to other road-users, especially pedestrians, who were there first.
