It’s time for pedestrians to show some courtesy — toward drivers!

Vineyard drivers tend to be gracious when it comes to ceding right of way to those on bicycles, mopeds or foot. But the time has come — actually it’s long past — to ask pedestrians to reciprocate and extend some courtesy to drivers.

I’m not talking about pedestrians using crosswalks or strolling along the side of the road. My issue is with those who walk in the middle of the street, headphones firmly planted on head, oblivious to everything around them.

Today, for example, I was stuck in a line of cars attempting to leave the parking lot of the Vineyard Haven Post office. A young woman meandering through the lot, grooving to her music, was the cause of the traffic tie-up.

It was only a matter of minutes until the woman left the lot, and the congestion abated. Such entitled behavior is hardly an isolated event. The seemingly urgent need to text while walking, regardless of the venue, has made it commonplace.

Unless pedestrians shape up and start showing some awareness of the effect their behavior is having on us drivers, I may have to use my car horn to disrupt their reverie.

Caroline Baum
West Tisbury