It was a dark and rainy day, It was about 5:15 pm - the sun was set almost completely, but a lot of the street lights had not come on yet. He was driving back from the post office and on the way to the bank. Driving in Kirkland, WA. there are a lot of crosswalks, without lights. This was at an intersection, the lady was not only wearing all black, and a trench coat all the way down, she also had the hood on and was hunched over. She didn't look before crossing, and as my husband turned in the rain with other headlights shining - glare hitting the eyes. He didn't see her at all. So scary, he came within inches - stopped in the middle of the road, she yelled at him, and he yelled back that she should not wear all black in the dark. That he could not see her at all, she yelled back at him that it was his fault if he couldn't see her. Obviously he would have wanted to see her, and was glad he didn't hit her, but was very shaken up from the close call. As he relayed the story to me, I wonder what was she thinking. Of course as drivers we watch out for pedestrians and other vehicles and such as your driving. But as pedestrians we need to not only be aware of what is going on around us, but wearing all black, not using the flags to cross or not looking as you cross the road, talking on your phone, etc. Can cause more then a problem for everyone. She may have thought it was all on the driver to see everything, but if she had been hit and died, it would have been a problem for her also. Everyone should think about what they wear outside at night if walking along a street or crossing a street, especially when there are no street lights, or it is raining. We need to be more aware of our surroundings and wear brighter colors, or bright or light colored jackets, or reflective to not be in camouflage with the night.
