Rant - Zebra Crossings!

[andrewpg]

Seriously. What is wrong with people these days? There are clear instructions we are taught when learning to drive:

Zebra crossings. As you approach a zebra crossing

look out for pedestrians waiting to cross and be ready to slow down or stop to let them cross
you MUST give way when a pedestrian has moved onto a crossing

So why is it that in the past 2 weeks 5 of my colleagues and myself have been nearly run down on zebra crossings? We're not stupid - we don't jump out into the road... In one instance the driver even stopped 20 metres down the road, opened her window and laughed "that was close, wasn't it"!!!

People have no time in life any more. There is far too much emphasis on getting from A to B as quickly as possible, and not enough about doing so safely.



/rant.

Edited by andrewpg on Monday 22 April 14:16

[Ashley1987]

andrewpg said:

Seriously. What is wrong with people these days? There are clear instructions we are taught when learning to drive:

[b][i]Zebra crossings. As you approach a zebra crossing

look out for pedestrians waiting to cross and be ready to slow down or stop to let them cross
you MUST give way when a pedestrian has moved onto a crossing[/b][/i]

So why is it that in the past 2 weeks 5 of my colleagues and myself have been nearly run down on zebra crossings? We're not stupid - we don't jump out into the road... In one instance the driver even stopped 20 metres down the road, opened her window and laughed "that was close, wasn't it"!!!

People have no time in life any more. There is far too much emphasis on getting from A to B as quickly as possible, and not enough about doing so safely.



/rant.

Couldn't agree more. I nearly slapped a student the other day for being a nats cock hair away from killing a bloke and his dog whilst I waited there letting him walk along the zebra crossing! People are fktards.

[mmm-five]

There's rules for both drivers and pedestrians - and both parties are as bad as each other at following them.

The pedestrians rule is:

Highway Code Rule 19 said:

Zebra crossings. Give traffic plenty of time to see you and to stop before you start to cross. Vehicles will need more time when the road is slippery. Wait until traffic has stopped from both directions or the road is clear before crossing. Remember that traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing. Keep looking both ways, and listening, in case a driver or rider has not seen you and attempts to overtake a vehicle that has stopped.

The driver's rule is:

Highway Code Rule 195 said:

Zebra crossings. As you approach a zebra crossing look out for pedestrians waiting to cross and be ready to slow down or stop to let them cross. You MUST give way when a pedestrian has moved onto a crossing. Allow more time for stopping on wet or icy roads. Do not wave or use your horn to invite pedestrians across; this could be dangerous if another vehicle is approaching. Be aware of pedestrians approaching from the side of the crossing.

[don logan]

Try the zebra crossing on Abbey Road, the only crossing I know where there are always people waiting to cross but nobody actually wants you to stop!

[Ibiza125]

Those rules kind of contradict eachother though...

The car doesn't have to stop for the pedestrian if he/she is not on the crossing, but the pedestrian has to wait until both cars have stopped... Therefore, the pedestrian must wait until the road is clear..?

[Terminator X]

Pedestrian crossing, lights turn red, inside lane stops, just about to cross when a car ploughs through at 50mph and just carries on. Always best to look before stepping out imho.

TX.

[yellowjack]

Kick any car that traverses the crossing while you are on it. Seriously, do it. It's funny.

Here: http://goo.gl/maps/OaejC
I was (legally) parked further up on the left (where the market stalls are in the image) and had walked back to buy a Kebab from 'Poppy's Charcoal Grill' on the right. As I crossed from right to left, 'bab in hand, one of Stelios' silly orange buses zoomed past as I was at least 2 steps into crossing. So I kicked it. The driver stopped a little further up the road, leapt out of the bus and started to rant as he walked toward me.

I turned to face him - still stood in the middle of the crossing, in a Swansea City shirt, kebab in one hand, can in the other, and it's getting on for midnight. He decided to concentrate on discretion, and forget the valour, and jogged back to his cab and made a quick exit.

I had been to London for the Fulham/Swansea FA Cup replay several seasons ago, driven from the nearby tube station car park on my way to the M11, and decided to stop in order to comply with the rules (away game, evening kick-off = kebab on the way home).

Hopefully the stupid, Bluetooth headset wearing bus driver will have learned from his mistake, and has treated Zebra Crossings with respect from then on.


More recently, my wife and I were lucky to escape uninjured when we were nearly mown down at a PeLiCon crossing while the light was in our favour. The car stopped some yards away, and the silly woman driving was all apologetic. (she knew my wife through work). Too late. I'd already called out to a Surrey Police traffic officer who was parked further up the street using a cashpoint machine. Last view I had was of him having a word with the driver as I walked away. I'm not a vengeful person, but she really deserved a wake-up call. "Sorry, I've just finished a shift and my head's all over the place" just doesn't cut it when you're driving a car through the morning rush hour traffic.

[silverfoxcc]

yelowjack,
Completely agree. If you get it right with a bloody good thump, and a fall, the buggers st themselves and some leave like st off a shovel. My mate did this once and the prune came back to 'discuss' it with him. Only to have pointed out to him, that the prescence of plod would make his case rather weak, seeing the dent in the side of the car door.
He tended to agree!!! It rally is a win win, you damage the car FOC!! they get done.
Mind you i have got older since then and value what is left of my 'bodywork'

[Geekman]

They do often put zebra crossings in extremely stupid places though - I know of several just off roundabouts or just around a tight corner. Still no excuse for not stopping, but a little more thought by the council would make a big difference. As for kicking cars, that's just asking for trouble and makes you just as much of a knob as them.

[yellowjack]

Geekman said:

They do often put zebra crossings in extremely stupid places though - I know of several just off roundabouts or just around a tight corner. Still no excuse for not stopping, but a little more thought by the council would make a big difference. As for kicking cars, that's just asking for trouble and makes you just as much of a knob as them.

Awww, bless.

Tell you what. If you never, ever, waft through a crossing when I'm already using it, I'll promise NEVER to kick your car.

In the meantime, I'll reserve the right to react instinctively when faced with imminent danger.

"Officer, he kicked my car"

"Is this true sir?"

"No. He struck me a glancing blow as he drove through the crossing while I was ON IT"

"So, sir. You admit that you where in control of a vehicle when it struck a pedestrian on a crossing?"

End of complaint, I would have thought.

[simoid]

To clarify, as I hear it quite often, is "wait for the pedestrian to reach the other side" guidance or a rule?

[AC43]

Fella overtook me on the inside this morning and drove on. I was stopped at a red light on a pedestrian crossing. Words fail me.

[VxDuncan]

I slapped the side of an audi that sailed through a crossing I was using a few weeks ago. Female driver was texting on her phone and hadn't even registered me or the crossing.

[Camaro]

I got told this by my parents but I don't know if its really true or not, but always wait at the crossing holding onto to post, as that shows the driver you're waiting to cross. I pretty much do it instinctively, but whether its a genuine rule or not I don't know.

I do remember walking to school one day and some kids in front thought it was hilarious to suddenly turn onto a crossing but not actually cross, this caused the car that was next to me approaching it, slam on the anchors. When I duly called them knob heads they said it didn't matter, if they got hit they'd be in the right as the car hot them.

[fjord]

No swearing, 3/10.

[Otispunkmeyer]

mmm-five said:

There's rules for both drivers and pedestrians - and both parties are as bad as each other at following them.

The pedestrians rule is:

Highway Code Rule 19 said:

Zebra crossings. Give traffic plenty of time to see you and to stop before you start to cross. Vehicles will need more time when the road is slippery. Wait until traffic has stopped from both directions or the road is clear before crossing. Remember that traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing. Keep looking both ways, and listening, in case a driver or rider has not seen you and attempts to overtake a vehicle that has stopped.

The driver's rule is:

Highway Code Rule 195 said:

Zebra crossings. As you approach a zebra crossing look out for pedestrians waiting to cross and be ready to slow down or stop to let them cross. You MUST give way when a pedestrian has moved onto a crossing. Allow more time for stopping on wet or icy roads. Do not wave or use your horn to invite pedestrians across; this could be dangerous if another vehicle is approaching. Be aware of pedestrians approaching from the side of the crossing.

People don't believe me tell them these rules. I think they do need a re-word.

I mean you could take that to mean, if a ped is stood at the crossing waiting, you don't particularly have to stop for them. Not until they are physically on the crossing.

But basically how I see it is...

If I am at the crossing and there are cars approaching but are far enough away to see me and stop, I'll cross. Then as they approach they must give way to me. If I am waiting at the crossing but the approaching cars are a bit close I'll either wait for them to stop or wait until they pass as I do not expect someone to be stopping sharply or in a panic because I am standing there.

If I am driving and approaching a crossing and can see someone stood waiting I will generally stop to allow them to cross even though they are not on the crossing.

If I am driving and pedestrian turns up at the crossing but I don't see them until I at the point where I do not think I can brake safely (or without slamming on the anchors) then I will not stop. In this case I don't consider that I have done wrong.

This is sometimes the case on crossings where pedestrians can suddenly appear from behind objects like hedgerows and fences (i.e. pavements perpendicular to the road that exit right onto a crossing...there are a few around here, notably in Tesco's car park where pedestrians can emerge from a pavement flanked by bushes). So if I see the pedestrian, but feel braking would have to be very sharp then most times I will continue and for the pedestrian they shouldn't expect me to stop because the road isn't clear and I haven't got sufficient space to stop normally.


Am I doing it right?

[Otispunkmeyer]

simoid said:

To clarify, as I hear it quite often, is "wait for the pedestrian to reach the other side" guidance or a rule?

I reckon it is something you should do. Moving off before the person has finished crossing can still unsettle some people.

[simoid]

Otispunkmeyer said:

This is sometimes the case on crossings where pedestrians can suddenly appear from behind objects like hedgerows and fences (i.e. pavements perpendicular to the road that exit right onto a crossing...there are a few around here, notably in Tesco's car park where pedestrians can emerge from a pavement flanked by bushes). So if I see the pedestrian, but feel braking would have to be very sharp then most times I will continue and for the pedestrian they shouldn't expect me to stop because the road isn't clear and I haven't got sufficient space to stop normally.


Am I doing it right?

At Tesco it might be best to crawl up to the crossing so you can be sure that, for example, no child is about to run out after escaping a shopping-laden mother...

[Otispunkmeyer]

Camaro said:

I got told this by my parents but I don't know if its really true or not, but always wait at the crossing holding onto to post, as that shows the driver you're waiting to cross. I pretty much do it instinctively, but whether its a genuine rule or not I don't know.

I do remember walking to school one day and some kids in front thought it was hilarious to suddenly turn onto a crossing but not actually cross, this caused the car that was next to me approaching it, slam on the anchors. When I duly called them knob heads they said it didn't matter, if they got hit they'd be in the right as the car hot them.

That last part... hmmmm. I would say suddenly turning on to the crossing when cars are approaching close to the crossing would put the person crossing in the wrong. Didn't wait until it was clear or until cars were stationary. You cannot expect someone maybe 10-20 ft away to stop in time, especially if just before then there was no one obviously waiting at the crossing. I mean what you describe there is like jay-walking. Just stepping out into the road...only they chose to do it at a Zebra crossing. Normally the pedestrian would get done for that in countries like the US.

[Otispunkmeyer]

simoid said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

This is sometimes the case on crossings where pedestrians can suddenly appear from behind objects like hedgerows and fences (i.e. pavements perpendicular to the road that exit right onto a crossing...there are a few around here, notably in Tesco's car park where pedestrians can emerge from a pavement flanked by bushes). So if I see the pedestrian, but feel braking would have to be very sharp then most times I will continue and for the pedestrian they shouldn't expect me to stop because the road isn't clear and I haven't got sufficient space to stop normally.


Am I doing it right?

At Tesco it might be best to crawl up to the crossing so you can be sure that, for example, no child is about to run out after escaping a shopping-laden mother...

Well yes. I am aware of the situation there and treat it accordingly. However, it is seldom used because it is a crossing to the recycling bins and so the majority of drivers are already doing 20-30 mph at this point! (its on the end of the road that leads out of the car park). They also have the entry and exit to the petrol station right after the crossing as well so there is a lot of activity going on there to keep an eye on. Its not the best lay out I have seen.

Something will happen one day.