Just because a person tries to be nice, doesn’t mean that they know how. Take, for example, those who stop at intersections to allow pedestrians to cross. That seems like a nice thing to do, right?

Many agree, and they’d go out of their way to make sure that they do such a thing.

I’ve seen numerous times that motorists, if they see someone nearing an intersection, stop and wait so that the pedestrian can cross before proceeding. They’ll do this even if it’s not at all necessary. In many cases, the motorist could have proceeded through the intersection before the pedestrian even arrived at it.

The motorist probably pictures themselves some kind of hero who is holding back the traffic behind them so that the little guy could cross. However, they could actually be causing problems.

For one thing, they may be holding back someone who is already running late for work, or has something important to deliver with a deadline minutes away. Or they may be holding back a woman who doesn’t want to give birth in a passenger seat.

Also, when a motorist stops to allow a pedestrian to cross when they don’t have to, they are making an unnecessary and awkward moment for the pedestrian. We live in an age where distrust is rampant. Some pedestrians might be paranoid, assuming that the motorist is setting up a moment where he can easily run a pedestrian down, and enjoy the feeling of power from being in such a position. That kind of distrust isn’t rare these days. We live in an age where many people assume the worst of other people.

If the motorist can reasonably proceed, then why not? If a person stops and waits for a pedestrian that hasn’t reached the intersection yet, and they could have gone, and the pedestrian could have easily crossed afterwards anyway, then the motorist is actually wasting their time for nothing. What other reason do people do this than for a sense of satisfaction that comes with doing something nice, while expending a minimum of effort?

Pedestrians may want to know what they can do about it. The solution is simple: when a motorist that could have kept going pulls up to an intersection, and unnecessarily stalls there, just cross behind them. This way, they won’t be enabled to make awkward moments like that, and if they want to experience the satisfaction of having performed a good deed, they can find that by doing a good deed. And such a thing is not very hard. There are places where there is a lot of trash sitting around.