Pedestrian Crossing

[luke83]

To many of you this will be obvious....

WHEN THERE IS SOMEONE WAITING TO CROSS OR ALREADY CROSSING A ZEBRA CROSSING, STOP YOUR CAR!!!

I am a frequent user of the Zebra crossing on Thurso Road and often witness people just driving through when I am waiting to cross. The reason I am posting this now is that today I was halfway across when a 4x4 (coming from Thurso) which had plenty of time to see me begin to cross, just kept going without changing speed at all. I had to stop sharply in the middle of the road to avoid being run over, the driver (and all 3 passengers!) seemed completely oblivious to my presence! A similar thing happened yesterday to my wife when an Audi nearly hit her & our dog on the same crossing.

There are clear Highway Code reminder signs on the approach to this crossing and warning lights on the crossing itself, please start considering the safety of pedestrians over saving those 10 seconds by racing through the Zebra crossing.

[Kodiak]

You think that is bad. Well over the past three years I have on at least three different occasions, been nearly run down by a Vehicle while crossing the road at the corner of Trail Street and Olrig Street, Thurso.

There is a crossing there and each time I was on it while the Green Man was on and the Lights were Red for Road Traffic. The Cars paid no attention to the Red light, made no attempt to stop and just drove through through the crossing missing me by inches. One driver even yelled through his window for me to get out of the road.

So if drivers pay no attention to Traffic Lights then there is not much hope for them to pay attention to a Zebra Crossing.

[Bad Manners]

I would try taking your concerns to the Police as they are breaking the law If you are unlucky enough to have this happen again try and remember the number and give the police the details. hopefully they could observe the crossing for a period of time to see if this is common practise or just the odd one.

[chamb]

Its hapening all over, I live beside the crossing on mount pleasent road in thurso and its like playing chicken there, one way will the stop and then the person coming the other way will keep going so, you could be stood there all day?

The worst part is, it was put there as part of the safer routes to school, and even worse the ones you will see using the crossing wrong are parents who have children in the school the crossing is there for?

Its sad that it cant be used correctly, the number of cars that dont stop is unreal.

My son was knocked down at the crossing in may o8, and the effect it has had on him is unreal, he thought he was doing the right thing crossing at the crossing? But as usual no notice is taken that they exsist?

[Whitewater]

Hi luke83, I have also had some close encounters on that crossing. Unfortunately there are too many drivers in Caithness who are unaware of the purpose of a zebra crossing, many probably don't know they exist in the county

[wifie]

Sadly this is not just a Caithness phenonema. I live in a village in Perthshire and often hear people complaining about cars not stopping at the crossing when they should! I was going to say I didn't think they are an effective device for people crossing but Kodiak I cannot believe that someone would go thru a red light and you were on the crossing too! Sad world we live in when the guy in the huge hunk of metal thinks he can just keep going! I agree with Bad Manners - try to take the numbers - might be able to make them think or give them a fright if nothing else!

[Gizmo]

To many of you this will be obvious....

WHEN THERE IS SOMEONE WAITING TO CROSS OR ALREADY CROSSING A ZEBRA CROSSING, STOP YOUR CAR!!!

I am a frequent user of the Zebra crossing on Thurso Road and often witness people just driving through when I am waiting to cross. The reason I am posting this now is that today I was halfway across when a 4x4 (coming from Thurso) which had plenty of time to see me begin to cross, just kept going without changing speed at all. I had to stop sharply in the middle of the road to avoid being run over, the driver (and all 3 passengers!) seemed completely oblivious to my presence! A similar thing happened yesterday to my wife when an Audi nearly hit her & our dog on the same crossing.

There are clear Highway Code reminder signs on the approach to this crossing and warning lights on the crossing itself, please start considering the safety of pedestrians over saving those 10 seconds by racing through the Zebra crossing.

Perhaps the driver thought they only had to stop for Zebras...hehe

But seriously, all jokes aside, this doesn't surprise me in the slightest, the Caithnesian highway code seems to have it's own set of rules, drivers in Wick also seem to have great difficulty with the simple rule of the roundabout...Give way to the right.

[Anne x]

In my Suburb we have Zebra crossing and flashing Beacon thingies and they have just built a new M & S Food hall with extras so traffic has doubled and a huge Holiday Inn
when I get off the bus from Town the driver stops waits until I cross but others oh !!!
Coming from my charity job all hours you just take your life in your hands some stop others and sorry to say but always the young boys and girls racers just keep going
We are at the moment on a campaign for proper bleeper type crosssings canna mind right now what they are called

[mccaugm]

[evil]Well its not quite a Zebra issue but it does involve the Urban Jungle that is Wick High Street. I pressed the button waited for the green signal to cross. Attempted to do so along with another lady and managed to jump back as TWO Navara style cars (tanks) went whizzing by, narrowly missing myself and my fellow "crossee". I was scared witless and needless to say VERY angry. If the light is red and you are a driver the idea is that you STOP whilst the pedestrians cross. I am glad my 4 year old wasn't with me as I dread to think what could have happened. Grrrr[evil]

[Moira]

To many of you this will be obvious....

WHEN THERE IS SOMEONE WAITING TO CROSS OR ALREADY CROSSING A ZEBRA CROSSING, STOP YOUR CAR!!!........
.

This may be obvious but did you make a note of the car registration number and report it to the Police?

[kriklah]

Its not just crossing that are ignored, but signs in general. Taking a friend in to wick hospital this week, i was gong to go in through the back entrance to the car park but my friend warned me it had been changed to a oneway system, so i carried on the to front. Later leaving the carpark, via that back way, a car came in, blythly ignoring the big red no entry signs on posts, and the NO ENTRY written in big white letters across the road! Once they got into the carpark, they would have been getting in the way of anyone else trying to get out as there really is no room to manouver for 2 way traffic.

[AfternoonDelight]

I was driving out of the Medical Centre (yes - you can take cars inside these days, makes waiting a lot more entertaining) when a car came in the entrance on the wrong side of the road... so I waited until he'd moved over (no apology) and went to the junction. There I met a car coming on my right at about 5 miles an hour which then stopped without indicating... [evil] I proceeded to pull out of the car park, turning left and this car decided it was actually going to keep going after all... AND had the cheek to look at me with a death stare because I was pulling out!!!

Nice start to the day - I think I'll walk at lunchtime... :roll:

[ShelleyCowie]

"Chamb" That is devastating that your child was hit! What is this place coming to!!!

I have a son and my partner has another 2 boys. The eldest is nearly 7 and we live very close to pennyland school but we cant let him walk home on his own because of the traffic problems!

If we cant let our kids walk home on their own then how are they supposed to learn responsibility and safety!

Infact when i moved house many years ago when i was still in high school i crossed the road at the green man at the top gate to go to the playing field on the weekend and i was hit by a car!

More notice should be taken to pedestrians! Its 10-15 extra seconds out of a drivers journey! Made me mad now reading this!! :lol:[evil]

[mccaugm]

This may be obvious but did you make a note of the car registration number and report it to the Police?

Too quick and it was last Saturday afternoon in Wick and quite dark. Still annoyed about it...so glad my child was not with me...

[Bad Manners]

People ignore signs and instructions because the get away with it if they were caught and fined for their action it would improve the standard.
As long as they get away with breaking the highway code these thing will persist.

[rfr10]

Well it all depends on the manners and consideration of the driver. If it is not actually illegal to continue past a zebra crossing unless a pedestrian is already crossing. At Thurso road, since the road is so wide, what I've noticed cars doing is, if the pedestrian is on the other side of the road, on the crossing then they will just carry on as quickly as possible before the pedestrian reaches their side. With the amount of cars parked on Thurso street, leading up to the crossing, it is sometimes very difficult to see in advance whether or not there is someone waiting to cross. Far too many cars park on or close to zebra crossings obstructing the view of othe drivers. There should be some sort of traffic calming measure on roads leading towards crossings, especially on a busy main road like Thurso Road. Yes there is a big yellow sign warning drivers but it's not exactly going to slow them down. Thurso Road should have been split in two part crossing so that it is safer and easier to cross the road- similar to what they have done further up the road. Goodness knows why they didn't just turn this section into a Zebra crossing rather than making a island in the middle of the road. I'd really like to know about any roads in any areas of the Highlands where routes (especially routes to schools) are becoming unsafe for pedestrians of even drivers if pedestrians are not using the crossings and crossing further up the road, etc. We are currently in the process of gathering any road safety issues from all schools in the Highlands in order to improve the safety of as many areas as possible which effect school children. If you experience any abuse of road safety (mainly on school routes) please let me know- it would be much appreciated. It's unlikely anyone one is going to be able to resolve this sort of problem on Caithness.org unless there are police officers, etc reading these messages so any concerns raised would be very useful - transport.hyv@mail.com would be the email address if you actually do want to help improve the safety on our roads.

[Connor.]

It is especially bad at Tesco in Thurso. The zebra crossing as soon as you come in. Many a time have I had to step back because cars wouldn't give you right of way. It's gotten to the point where I have to stop and wait for these cars to drive past before I can cross as if it was just a normal road. I'm 17 and i have more road sense than half these folk.

[Thumper]

Drivers can be the most inconsiderate people ever,you only have to stand beside the road when the schools are getting out and the 20MPH restrictions are in place to know that! I have given up on the number of times I have seen drivers speed past the schools at way more than 30 never mind the 20 they are supposed to be doing! I have even shouted "its 20 here" at them as they pass,just to be looked at like I am mad!Well actually I am mad,mad that people don't follow the law! x

[luke83]

This may be obvious but did you make a note of the car registration number and report it to the Police?

I would have but it happened so quickly that I didn't have the chance. WHEN it happens again I will do so!

[Tighsonas4]

totally agree with all thats been said. but is the pedistrian always right???
try taking a car out of the precint in wick and see how many just casually stroll in front of you
you dont have the lights there for long and on occassions have lost them altogether yet they pass over looking nowhere in particular tony

[rfr10]

totally agree with all thats been said. but is the pedistrian always right???
try taking a car out of the precint in wick and see how many just casually stroll in front of you
you dont have the lights there for long and on occassions have lost them altogether yet they pass over looking nowhere in particular tony

The precinct as in Market Square? This zone should be for pedestrians only unless parking to go to Wetherspoons or dropping off a disabled passenger. Too many drivers think that they are allowed to take a shortcut through here but it specifically states for ACCESS ONLY. It's a pedestrian zone and I believe that pedestrians have priority over cars in this area. The amount of cars (not going to state any in particular incase I start arguments again) that think they can ignore the lights and slowly move out onto Highstreet/ Bridge Street through the red light is just ridiculous. Would be great if police were there waiting to catch them.

[A9RUNNER]

It always amazes me some of the drivers at the new crossing in wick and at the roundabouts my goodness some folk have no clue what to do.

[rfr10]

It always amazes me some of the drivers at the new crossing in wick and at the roundabouts my goodness some folk have no clue what to do.

The roundabouts are like a staring game- stare at the car to your right and wait for it to move and then you realise they have no intention of moving becuase they're staring at the car on their right waiting for it to move but oh no! THEY haven't realised that they're not moving anywhere because they're staring at you! So eventually some clever wit realises and starts moving off but low and behold! Everyone has had this exact same "cleverness" and starts moving off too! So guess what.. they all decide to stop immediately and wait again.. :)

That's my interpretation of it anyway.

[Tighsonas4]

The precinct as in Market Square? This zone should be for pedestrians only unless parking to go to Wetherspoons or dropping off a disabled passenger. Too many drivers think that they are allowed to take a shortcut through here but it specifically states for ACCESS ONLY. It's a pedestrian zone and I believe that pedestrians have priority over cars in this area. The amount of cars (not going to state any in particular incase I start arguments again) that think they can ignore the lights and slowly move out onto Highstreet/ Bridge Street through the red light is just ridiculous. Would be great if police were there waiting to catch them.
how is disabled drivers going to get out of the market square if as you seem to suggest the traffic lights is the place to cross.agree to many use it as a short cut and even jump the lights but to walk in front of cars who have the green light doesnt make sense in any code of practice tony

[rfr10]

how is disabled drivers going to get out of the market square if as you seem to suggest the traffic lights is the place to cross.agree to many use it as a short cut and even jump the lights but to walk in front of cars who have the green light doesnt make sense in any code of practice tony

I'm not quite sure what you mean. What I'm saying is that there are many drivers who use the "road" through Market Square as a short cut for getting from Shore Lane to the Main Street when it is intended for access only for delivery, drop off, etc.

[Tighsonas4]

i totally agree with all that .my post was about pedestrians using the junction at the traffic lights to cross even when cars have the green light
and slightly further on they have a traffic control in both bridge st and high st
use it almost daily so its not a one off observation in the precint itself they have to be fully considered. have even seen the traffic warden pull them up for it tony

[rfr10]

i totally agree with all that .my post was about pedestrians using the junction at the traffic lights to cross even when cars have the green light
and slightly further on they have a traffic control in both bridge st and high st
use it almost daily so its not a one off observation in the precint itself they have to be fully considered. have even seen the traffic warden pull them up for it tony

The pedestrian crossing on Bridge/ High Street is very misleading as one set of traffic lights change just before the other which means that when cars on High Street have stopped, there are still cars coming through from Bridge Street but pedestrians don't always realise this and start to cross as soon as they see that the cars on High Street have stopped. Not sure why this is- is it a mistake or deliberate? Anyone know?

[Tighsonas4]

only know the lights do the same at the franciis street junction so can only assume there is a reason for it tony