PEDESTRIAN WAHALA

"Eeeeeiiiiii"
The sound was loud  to penetrate through the music from my earphones, and I stopped abruptly. I usually have earphones on to enjoy some tunes when I walk alone.

Quickly, I took the earphones off and turned to look around. Not only did people around have faces marked with concern, but some openly expressed their anger.
I wondered what was amiss so I took a quick look around and then my eyes finally settled on what seemed to be the problem.

To my left, across the street was a minivan with people gathering around it. Curiosity made me draw a bit nearer to inquire what the problem was. As I was getting closer, a woman yelled "as for these drivers, they are always on speed, only God knows where they are in a hurry to when life is just but one". Immediately, I realized it had almost been a tragedy, but the victim escaped by seconds.

As humans, our daily activities place us in various situations. You may be about crossing the road, and just when you think it is safe to cross, an "insane" driver just speeds past out of nowhere; or, you think you are safe where you are only for a driver to almost knock you and say you are in the way.

Drivers have all kinds of stickers or writings on the glasses of their cars. Some, inspirational quotes or maybe a niche carved due to one's experiences. Others are mostly stickers which come as a result of some form of "pledge" they have made.

There's this particular one I happen to come across mostly and paraphrased, it's just to say they will patiently wait for pedestrians to cross the road. But then again, I ask myself, do they really do this? Sometimes the speed a driver uses, not to exaggerate, but it's enough to make you develop an eye problem due to the dust he or she leaves behind.

It really baffles me to see that drivers cannot patiently wait for a maximum of 20 seconds for a pedestrian to cross the road. Should it be that the said pedestrian is handicapped, then, you'd have to exercise a bit more patience because after all, you never know what lies ahead of you.

I wonder what some make of the road signs with the time spent when learning to drive. Is it that they just memorize a few just for passing the exams? What then becomes the aftermath? Our side of the continent even has it that pedestrians have to rush to cross the road even when there is a road sign called "zebra crossing" and I find it quite interesting.

This brings the police who stand by the roadside to mind. Being an ardent user of public transport, there's been countless times when vehicles are stopped by the police only for God knows what. It's just about let me have a look at your license. If there's a denomination of our currency in it, you're made to drive off safely. But if there isn't, wahala for you. I dare say little or nothing is done about the over-speeding issue and it's really not safe for us. Whereas some people in the police service do their best per what is expected of them, some just stain the profession with corrupt deeds.

Someone might say he or she is in a hurry to get to his or her destination on time. Or to cut matters short, " I want to beat time".But let me ask again, can we ever beat time? What were you lazying about doing when the clock was ticking or is it that you lost track of time? Should a bit of reflection be done, one would realize that just when you think you want to "beat time", certain things just cross you and if care is not taken, you would mess up your day entirely.

There might be another "defense phrase" that it is an emergency. But then again, I ask, should you speed up and something unfortunate happens, would you be there to address the issue like you'd wish to?

There is this funny statement I hear people make that " when you're ready to learn how to drive, you should be ready to learn a few insults as well". Even though it is hilarious to an extent, that is what is being seen mostly. The human senses as heard from someone has to be on full display when one is behind the steering will.

A little patience for a pedestrian to cross the road won't hurt any nerve, I believe. But over-speeding or one's quest to rush to get to a destination does not guarantee your safety.