Waiting for the deer

On my walk home from one of my many trips to Chambers Creek Properties, I spotted a deer. It was on a gravelly strip that could easily be converted into a sidewalk between a fence and the road. There was space between this strip and the fence with a few trees planted in between. When I saw the deer, it was standing still. A car was driving down the road. I decided to stop walking for a moment. If I scared the deer, I couldn’t be certain that it would head in the right direction. I didn’t want it jumping out in front of the car.

Fortunately, the deer eventually headed up towards the fence. Since I wasn’t going to waste my entire day waiting for the deer to move again, I proceeded with my walk home. I’m sure that the deer wasn’t happy with how close I was, but I feel that I provided the space that should have been expected from me. More importantly, my distance and actions meant that I never put the deer in any danger.

I know that this experience isn’t that unique, but I don’t think many people handle these situations properly. The average pedestrian doesn’t pay attention to surroundings. Frequently, they are unaware of the cars on the roads. I was aware of my situation as well as the deer’s. I made a decision for the deer based on its position, the surrounding environment, where I was standing, and the presence of a car.

The reason that I’m bringing this up is because it seems like such an obvious way to handle a simple situation, but I don’t think that most people can handle it. Most pedestrians are oblivious to their surroundings and the consequences of their actions. The same could be said for most drivers. If you are going to be doing any action that could potentially put others in danger, you need to pay attention to what’s going on.