Let’s All Pay Attention Out There

Editor,

I would like to send my apologies to the woman and her dog, that I did not see, crossing Mermaid Street along Glenneyre, that I almost hit.

I’m sorry I didn’t see you. I feel really bad about it, but I really didn’t see you.

This situation is serious in Laguna Beach. Being a longtime resident, I admit I can get perturbed at the rivers of tourists crossing endlessly, sometimes not looking or thinking or talking on a phone or caring about traffic flow.

This was a low traffic, off-season incident. The traffic was light. I was on Mermaid approaching Glenneyre, to go left onto Glenneyre. I stopped, I looked left, looked right, and there being no traffic, started my left turn and there she was. I did not see her. I stopped in time, but was the recipient of an extremely angry look. I rolled down my window and apologized. Now, I know pedestrians have the right of way in California, but I would hope that they too, would watch out for cars.

I believe the woman was probably a local and was enjoying her un-crowded walk with her dog. I was enjoying a light traffic day turning left off Mermaid. It was a fraction of a second I didn’t see her.  I hope that pedestrians, especially locals, will stop, look and listen, (something I taught my kids) before crossing a street.

If we had made eye contact, there would not have been a close call. Let’s all pay attention. Thanks.

Mark Miller, Laguna Beach