Last week I saw a woman with two toddlers trying to cross Portland Road at the east end of Ilfracombe High St. For a full two minutes, a stream of drivers ignored them, including a district councillor I know but maybe shouldn’t name here. Where is their common decency? As soon as I was able to get out of Hostle Park Road, I blocked further traffic and waved the woman across.
On one level, the neglect of other road-users is due to ignorance on the part of drivers — they don’t bat an eye when stopping at lights, or waiting for priority traffic to clear a junction. But unless there’s a pedestrian crossing or traffic light, they are oblivious to people on foot. Primarily, the neglect is due to the system for teaching neglect. As I’ve said before, the system is anathema to civilised values.
