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 jacket did I realise I’d been cut, presumably by his rear door handle. I noted his number plate and made a report, 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 equality instead of priority as the central rule or protocol of the road, all road-users would be equal, with the vulnerable “more equal than others”. Drivers would learn to proceed carefully in urban settings and give way sociably to others, especially pedestrians, who were there first. All road-users would merge in a merry mix. By imposing unequal, anti-social rights-of-way, the current rules are the cause of most of our problems on the road. The deep cause goes untreated, so the system continues to cause untold injustice and harm.
