On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 10:17:14 PM UTC-5, Joy Beeson wrote:
Y'know how when you are waiting for a car to get out of your way, you
lead him a little? That is, you start to get back into the saddle
while he is still in front of you -- or if he's moving fast and is on
the other side of the street, before he even gets there -- and by the
time you get to the lane he is in, he's long gone.

Don't EVER pull that stunt on a pedestrian. When a pedestrian sees a
vehicle start getting ready to move, he stops dead in his tracks. It's
hard-wired on a subconscious level that a stationary target is easier
to miss, and the reflex clicks in without consulting the cortex.

If you were expecting to pass behind him, he will freeze in the exact
center of your intended path. Much confusion and embarrassment will
ensue.

Most pedestrians have squirrel brains and are unable to solve a triangle of velocities that involves them and a moving vehicle. Today, however, I met one who could. I suspect that he was a motorist who had had to leave his vehicle.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO