Which comes first, a cafe culture, or “Italian” pedestrian and driving habits? Recent Wellington history suggests a clear correlation. The question was raised while friends were speculating on  Wellington Central issues for me.

One proposed the dangerous habits of Wellington pedestrians, and the drivers who accommodate them. 

Wellington pedestrians consider their right to the roads to be only intermittently subordinate to cars. Bus drivers hold lordships far above any others. Next come car drivers, then professional truck drivers, then pedestrians, and finally cyclists.

In a classless category all their own (like New Zealanders in the UK) are courier cyclists. With some minor courtesy they are accepted as being above all rules and outside all rank.

I could not take up any aspect of this issue without hypocrisy. I’ve become so dangerously steeped in Wellington habits that I’ve found myself all alone in the middle of a roaring Auckland traffic stream. I absent-mindedly step out of the crowd and off the curb into a gap in the traffic flow, ignoring the lights. Two lanes later I realise the crowd are still where they were, patiently waiting for the cross signal.

Wellington drivers would take this in their stride, like Italians. In Auckland they’re alarmed, so the risk is doubled.