View Full Version : Pedestrian Crossings
Hi Folks,
Why do so many drivers just sail oblivious onto pedestrian crossings?
I refer to the ones without traffic lights but nonetheless clearly marked and with beacons.
Yesterday for the umpteenth time I approached such a crossing and 2 vehicles were coming from opposite directions ..one stopped to let me cross, the other just kept on coming.
Did I take this well?
No actually, I gesticulated wildly at the driver who had all but collided with me, indicating the stripey road and my displeasure.
My OH thought I was ever so funny[disgust]....and indeed I have noticed that he is not without blame in this department himself when driving.:mad:
Am I wrong in believing that there is a legal obligation for drivers to stop at pedestrian crossings, when clearly there is a pedestrian waiting to do so?
Enlighten me chaps!
Karia
NickInTheNorth
21-Aug-07, 18:13
Why is it that so many drivers also seem to believe that they always have the right of way over pedestrians.
Twice yesterday I was crossing the road Prices Street both times, and cars turning into the road seemed to thing that despite the fact that I was on their side of the road it was my responsibility to stop, take a step back and let them pass.
Next one that does it will find my steel toe caps just can't wait to make an accidental collision with their nice shiny BMW :D
cuddlepop
21-Aug-07, 18:23
This may be a man think because Mr Cp is exactly like Nick.:lol:
They will stop...
I take my life in my hands when we come across these crossings.Other half has us walking across the road even before they stop.
The retail park in Inverness is his favourite,:lol:
NickInTheNorth
21-Aug-07, 18:31
Hi CP, I don't mean that I cross thinking they will stop. When I start crossing they are not even on the same road, but turn into it after I start crossing.
Having said that I have managed to write off one car when it ran into me when I was a pedestrian :D
checked my copy of the highway code-
zebra crossings (the flashing beacons)
"remember that traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing.
Oh Fluff -have you had your first lesson?....how did it go? :D
helenwyler
21-Aug-07, 20:34
If the traffic does not stop, then you can carefully put one foot on the crossing. This means that the right of way is legally yours, and the traffic must stop so that you can cross.
... pasted from a BBC website about zebra cossings!
So you're waiting at the crossing... a car comes hurtling down the road with no apparent intention of stopping, so you "carefully" put your left foot out, do the Hokey Cokey, and That's What It's All About...WHOA!!!
Repeat ...with remaining limbs:(.
yes angela, had my 2nd lesson last night. really enjoying it. got upto 3rd gear, and mastered left hand turns.
next weeks its right hand turns, then im let loose on the road lol
1st lesson went well. didnt stall. i did get in trouble for swerving to avoid a pigeon though.... (he was rather fat)
Hi Helen,
Yeah, you got it!:D
Karia
My old Granddad used to say that with or without a crossing, if you have a walking stick & raise it in the air as you stride out into the road, the traffic is legally obliged to stop....... and if they did NOT stop, then they were at fault.
He used to put this into practice... often!
Mind, if ever he had been knocked over, at least he could have ended up in hospital safe in the knowledge that it wasn't his fault! [lol]
Pigeons fluff are made like that,it must be inbred in themI have to brake or swerve most mornings on way to work-but please remember the right hand turn is definitely the trickest one, you must get it right.Wish you all the best in a long driving career:D
Drivers have to give precedence to a pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing. That means that the moment you put one foot on the crossing vehicles must stop to allow you to cross safely. That includes drivers in both directions except where there is a central island.
Having said that I wouldn't recommend waiting until a bus or lorry is only a couple of yards away before seeing how good their brakes are. You would still have the right of way but that wouldn't reduce the pain. ;)
Blazing Sporrans
22-Aug-07, 00:28
I have often commented to Mrs BS that foreign pedestrians visiting this country must take their lives in their hands if they attempt to try and use a zebra crossing! Go to most European countries and if they see you waiting on the pavement at a marked crossing, they absolutely stand on the brakes to ensure that they stop and give precedence to pedestrians wishing to cross the road. In this country, most morons think it's funny to try and drive round you when you're halfway across or they blare the horn and imagine that entitles them to take precedence. Makes me want to kick out at them [evil]
changilass
22-Aug-07, 00:30
Got told to be very careful when we were in Lanzarote a number of years ago, as aparently cars do not have to stop at a crossing
You obviously don't know the rules,Blazing Sporrans. You get treble points if you can make them jump more than 20 feet! :D
Hi Folks,
Why do so many drivers just sail oblivious onto pedestrian crossings?
I refer to the ones without traffic lights but nonetheless clearly marked and with beacons.
Yesterday for the umpteenth time I approached such a crossing and 2 vehicles were coming from opposite directions ..one stopped to let me cross, the other just kept on coming.
Did I take this well?
No actually, I gesticulated wildly at the driver who had all but collided with me, indicating the stripey road and my displeasure.
My OH thought I was ever so funny[disgust]....and indeed I have noticed that he is not without blame in this department himself when driving.:mad:
Am I wrong in believing that there is a legal obligation for drivers to stop at pedestrian crossings, when clearly there is a pedestrian waiting to do so?
Enlighten me chaps!
KariaSo is it just chaps that you need enlightened by or will the female veriety do.It is as much the pedestrians responsibility on all crossings as it is the driver no mater what type of shiny car you drive.If you continue to cross the road like moses over the red sea then you will fined your self up beside the big man quicker than you may like
Metalattakk
22-Aug-07, 02:04
Am I wrong in believing that there is a legal obligation for drivers to stop at pedestrian crossings, when clearly there is a pedestrian waiting to do so?
Yes, you are wrong.
Get on the pedestrian crossing and they have to stop. Stand at the side and look helpless and forlorn and they'll happily whizz past, regardless.
As is their right.
Lolabelle
22-Aug-07, 08:16
A friend of mine rides her bike on the Fog line at the edge of the road, she is legally in the right to do this. But with semi trailers hurtling past at 100km per hour, I have assured her, that she will also be legally dead.
Small consolation, that she is in the right when tangling with 40t of truck coming at you.
helenwyler
22-Aug-07, 09:56
I have often commented to Mrs BS that foreign pedestrians visiting this country must take their lives in their hands if they attempt to try and use a zebra crossing! Go to most European countries and if they see you waiting on the pavement at a marked crossing, they absolutely stand on the brakes to ensure that they stop and give precedence to pedestrians wishing to cross the road. In this country, most morons think it's funny to try and drive round you when you're halfway across or they blare the horn and imagine that entitles them to take precedence. Makes me want to kick out at them [evil]
This is absolutely not my experience at crossings in Europe BS!! Drivers are not obliged to stop, and they feel they're doing you a favour if they do. I was in Bordeaux a few weeks ago and many drivers nudge past you on the crossing at the first available spare centimetre...
This is an extract from www.drcarhire.com/driving-abroad/pedestrians-and-railway-crossings.html (http://www.drcarhire.com/driving-abroad/pedestrians-and-railway-crossings.html)
Pedestrian crossings
In Britain we have the habit of stopping at zebra crossings to let pedestrians walk across. Try this in many other countries and you're likely to take a following driver completely by surprise, resulting in a screech of brakes and if you're unlucky, a car going into the back of yours. Do show courtesy to pedestrians but for safety's sake always check your rear view mirror before braking. In many countries pedestrians are expected to cross only at designated crossings and can be charged with jay walking if they disobey. It's also commonly an offence to walk across a pelican crossing (one controlled by traffic lights) when the pedestrian crossing light shows red.
I feel much safer using crossings in this country...or at least where I live...I still keep my eyes 'peeled' though!!
Blazing Sporrans
22-Aug-07, 16:34
This is absolutely not my experience at crossings in Europe BS!!
Never been out and about in France helen however I suppose when I recall footage of traffic moving around the Arc de Triomphe then I don't suppose it surprises me! I was only going from my own experiences in Spain, Holland and Germany where I was pleasantly surprised (even astounded) by the attitude of the motorist towards the pedestrian....
lady penelope
22-Aug-07, 19:44
The highway code states that you should not cross until the traffic has stopped but then if you are on the crossing traffic must stop. Oh and you must not loiter!
Bear in mind a few years back my sister was hit by a car at a pelican crossing while crossing. They never caught the driver and she has pins holding her arm together!
I'm a driver and I always stop.:)
The highway code states that you should not cross until the traffic has stopped but then if you are on the crossing traffic must stop.
Thank you Lady P,
Does anyone see a problem with the logic of that?!:eek:
karia
lady penelope
22-Aug-07, 20:00
It isn't logic.The highway code must have been written by men[lol]
They obviously have never tried to cross with small children or buggys.
Hi Lady P,
I think that you are spot on!
The Highway Code was certainly not written by a pedestrian,.......
... that's for sure.;)
Karia
northener
22-Aug-07, 22:23
Definitive answer:
Traffic must give way to any pedestrian already on the crossing. Drivers on approach must approach with caution and should be prepared to stop if it appears the pedestrian is about to step onto the crossing. If there is any doubt as to the pedestrians' intention - it would be wise to stop. On your driving test, the examiner will expect you to stop - if it is safe to do so - if someone is waiting. This should be considered the correct way to deal with Zebra's.
Sticking your foot on the crossing at the last second would be an incredibly stupid thing to do as a pedestrian - if Billy NoBrains in his 4 wheeled flying machine isn't paying attention, you could end up very dead very quickly, and it's no good being pedantic after the collision - won't change a thing.
BTW The big yellow signs in Wick stating drivers must give way at Zebras (no clues as to where the pedestrian is) are incorrect according to the Highway Code. Please note that the previous paragraphs do not match up exactly with the wording in the Highway Code - so please don't start pasting God knows how many sections of the Highway Code in response. The above outline is the accepted way of teaching and assessing drivers when dealing with Zebras.
Waving walking sticks? Means nothing.
Riding on the white line? Recipe for messy death, you will be perceived by the idiot faction as trying to let them pass. One third of the way out from the line is a better position - you won't get stuffed into a drystane dyke by the downdraught from passing wagons. Riders generally need to be more assertive regarding position when on pushbikes or slower motorbikes. Only whiteline if it is safe for you to do it!
Hope this helps.
........Waving walking sticks? Means nothing.
Riding on the white line? Recipe for messy death, you will be perceived by the idiot faction as trying to let them pass. One third of the way out from the line is a better position - you won't get stuffed into a drystane dyke by the downdraught from passing wagons. Riders generally need to be more assertive regarding position when on pushbikes or slower motorbikes. Only whiteline if it is safe for you to do it!
Hope this helps.
Hey, Northener... I'm glad my old granddad isn't around, he would take you to task over that one.. ! Probably while waving his stick at you - I don't think it was EVER out of his hand! [lol]
And as for the biking part... yes I agree. I ride a pushbike - and have learnt to ride it aggressively on the road - if that's the right word... if a cyclist rides tight into the kerb, the car users often drive quite tight into you, and it can be quite scary - if you ride a short way out, it forces the car to go round you & in my experience (often seen pedalling a routine 30 miles a day) when they have to navigate around you, they then are forced into thinking about you & give you a wider berth.
Mind, I shake my stick at 'em if they get too close! ;)
Julie
northener
23-Aug-07, 19:31
[quote=jsherris;260721]Hey, Northener... I'm glad my old granddad isn't around, he would take you to task over that one.. ! Probably while waving his stick at you - I don't think it was EVER out of his hand! [lol]
Sounds like my kind of guy!:)
Might have been something many years ago that was an accepted practice, but it's certainly not something i've come across.
BTW Keep shaking that stick at the cars drivers, that'll keep the inconsiderate sods away from you!
saying that.. my 4 year old belted across the crossing today.. as he had ran ahead with mates.. i almost had heart failure.
he ended up getting a Huge row in front of the school on how he never ever ever crosses the street without mommy.. that it didnt matter what his mates did!
Thank You Northener!
A most definitive view indeed...now ..could you go and explain that to all the idiot drivers out there!
I am most decisive in my actions, don't dawdle and leave no one (not even the deaf...thanks to my talents for mime!:lol:)..in any doubt as to my intentions to cross the road.
May I also add, that if and when I am safely on the other side of the crossing, I do indicate my thanks to the drivers who have been civil enough to stop by dint of a nod and and a smile.
What would 'Tufty' and his mates make of this?:eek:
Karia
northener
23-Aug-07, 20:14
Thank You Northener!
A most definitive view indeed...now ..could you go and explain that to all the idiot drivers out there!
What would 'Tufty' and his mates make of this?:eek:
Karia
Alas, Karia, the stupid and lazy cannot be bothered to drive with any thought entering their head whatsoever. You can train a monkey to put its foot on the gas in a very short period of time, unfortunately you cannot make monkeys plan ahead and drive responsibly when left to their own devices. (viz: a couple of notable crashes around Caithness recently....)
Unfortunately, Tufty and his friends were all killed a few years ago by a 17 year old driver who lost control at high speed and ploughed into the garden where Tufty & co were having a picnic.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.....
George Brims
23-Aug-07, 20:20
This is an extract from www.drcarhire.com/driving-abroad/pedestrians-and-railway-crossings.html (http://www.drcarhire.com/driving-abroad/pedestrians-and-railway-crossings.html)
Pedestrian crossings
In Britain we have the habit of stopping at zebra crossings to let pedestrians walk across. Try this in many other countries and you're likely to take a following driver completely by surprise, resulting in a screech of brakes and if you're unlucky, a car going into the back of yours. Do show courtesy to pedestrians but for safety's sake always check your rear view mirror before braking. In many countries pedestrians are expected to cross only at designated crossings and can be charged with jay walking if they disobey. It's also commonly an offence to walk across a pelican crossing (one controlled by traffic lights) when the pedestrian crossing light shows red.
I feel much safer using crossings in this country...or at least where I live...I still keep my eyes 'peeled' though!!
I live in California, were the law is pretty much the same as Britain*, but practice is much more in favour of the pedestrian. A few years ago, my first day in Scotland on a visit, I yielded to a pedestrian already a couple of feet into the street, and the bloke behind me not only sounded his horn (not a short beep either!) but raced up alongside me at the next light to ask what the hell I thought I was doing. "Following the Highway Code. Give it a try some time." Was my reply, but the derisive snort that got me told me I wasn't going to change anything about him!
*The major difference is the jay-walking ticket. A pedestrian can be fined for crossing in an unsafe manner, such as crossing against the lights at a crossing, or crossing the street 20 yards down the road from a crossing with lights. They hand out a lot of those around the area where I work, much to the annoyance of people who have moved here from other states where it's not so stringent.
George Brims
23-Aug-07, 20:36
Waving walking sticks? Means nothing.
Aye but it is at least a good way to ensure you are seen, and a tool to enforce your rights, and to defend yourself in a case of road rage. The late Abrach McKay used to march into the traffic on Bridge Street in Wick with his stick raised in order to find a driver willing to give him a lift back to Castletown!
Riding on the white line? Recipe for messy death, you will be perceived by the idiot faction as trying to let them pass. One third of the way out from the line is a better position - you won't get stuffed into a drystane dyke by the downdraught from passing wagons. Riders generally need to be more assertive regarding position when on pushbikes or slower motorbikes. Only whiteline if it is safe for you to do it!
I absolutely agree here. I used to ride a bike 5,000 miles a year when I lived in and around Edinburgh and I learned it is essential to stake your claim to your bit of the road. If you keep in too close to the side not only will eejits drive past by your elbow as if you weren't there, you will pick up a lot of glass chips in your tyres.
I used to find gloves and steel capped shoes were useful assets. I refuse to say any more on grounds of self-incrimination.
[quote=northener;261037
Unfortunately, Tufty and his friends were all killed a few years ago by a 17 year old driver who lost control at high speed and ploughed into the garden where Tufty & co were having a picnic.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.....[/quote]''
NO...Not Tufty?:eek:
He was always such an (annoyingly safety conscious !!) utterly charming wee bit of potential road kill!;)
Karia
northener
24-Aug-07, 23:09
''
NO...Not Tufty?:eek:
He was always such an (annoyingly safety conscious !!) utterly charming wee bit of potential road kill!;)
Karia
Tasted nice too. ( Flash fry with garlic in olive oil).
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