“STOP”
*
When walking down the street one day, in the shade next to the sidewalk, I came upon
a stop sign. That got me thinking, why stop and who has to stop, a vehicle and/ or me?
The only reason for a moving object to stop at an intersection is to prevent a collision. If
no moving object is approaching, there is no reason to stop except for old fashion
“Mommy” laws. (The law, (I.E. “cops, judges) say that one must come to a complete
stop, never mind the fact that it takes a tremendous amount of energy to initiate a move of
an object. (Any truck driver knows that if they can just keep moving, even just a crawl,
that it makes it much easier to accelerate).
In Helsinki, (as in all the other Northern countries), there are very few “stop” signs,
however the pedestrian has the right of way. When walking back to my hotel, before
crossing the street, a car approaches a moderate speed. Instead of stepping out, I wait for
a few seconds to allow the vehicle to pass, (This always amazes the driver as they are
used to people just stepping out,) which is contrary to the “norm”, as I have seen “dumb
broads”, yakking as they are walking and are oblivious to oncoming traffic, causing the
vehicle to come to an abrupt stop. You see, our traffic laws were made back in the “horse
and Buggy” days. It is nice that Northern Europe has sort of kept up whith modern times,
(unlike here in Kalifornia); however the general public has remained ignorant and does
not understand the physics of motion. (That includes our “Law-Makers”).