On an otherwise mundane Monday, I witnessed an impressive near-miss on Alinga St, Civic, as my bus approached.
Being wary of the bus’s passenger side extended mirror, I stand back a good metre or so from the kerb until the bus stops. Not so this middle-aged man preoccupied with talking on his mobile. He continued his conservation as the bus moved closer to the kerb, his scone directly in line with the fast-approaching side mirror.
I reckon he had about half a second to spare when he finally clicked and stepped back. The bus was doing probably 10-15km/h as the mirror passed by him – enough to do him serious damage had it hit him. Certainly enough to knock him senseless.
It seems the design of these mirror placements places far too much emphasis on pedestrians’ self-awareness. I doubt the driver’s angle of vision assists much in these cases.
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