[Don]

Oh for ****s sake. Wouldn't it increase road safety if all cars had LOUD sports exhausts so people could hear them coming? And were, perhaps, covered with SPIKES to encourage pedestrians not to jump out in front of them? You could also put a large SPIKE on the steering wheel to encourage safer driving. I'm all for protecting kids from being run over. Wouldn't it be better to make sure they didn't get hit in the first place? (e.g. Driver training, Pedestrian Training [ads], better pavement/road design seperating people and cars etc etc)

[thub]

Of course, the fact that the majority of pedestrian accidents are the fault of the pedestrian appears to have conveniently been ignored by the authorities, so they can continue their assault on the motorist. (West Midlands Accident Review 1999 gives figures, for example) I'm sure we're all for sensible driving in built-up areas, but when some road planners deliberately design pedestrian/traffic interfaces that are confusing ('so people will slow down..') what hope is there of restoring common sense and taking a realistic approach to reducing pedestrian casualties? Sorry, came over a bit serious there...

[dubbs]

HAHAHAHAHABWWWOOOARRHEHEHEEHEHEHHHEEHNGNGNGNGNGHNGNGNGNNAAAAARGRGRRGGRGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! It's making me mad I tells ya.... If they spent less time painting the sodding road up to look like anything but a road we wouldn't have a problem. Seeing as heart disease is the biggest killer can't someone try and blame the motorist for that too?

[Paul V]

quote: You could also put a large SPIKE on the steering wheel to encourage safer driving.

Nah, it would put you off on track days

[Jason F]

The thing that Bugs me is when I am tootling down a School road @ 20mph keeping an eye on the brats sauntering about I am being Overtaken by women with their kids in the car, and they have to move quickly past me to avoid the other women with kids in the car coming the other way at 50mph......And as this is School Run Mum you`d think she would have more regards for the safety of the ankle biters... Yet, when I want to do 80mph down a country lane ( Not really John R ) they are doing 40mph in the only damn 60 limit..........

[Don]

Know what you mean, Jason! Now what I hate is the people who you blast past on the Motorway then when you hit a 50 limit (because people are working by the side of the road whose safety is at issue) rush past you still going at 80mph. Do these people think that the limit doesn't apply to them? That the GATSO won't go off because its 'them' behind the wheel? Grrrrrr. And it'll probably be me whose nicked for doing 85mph on a clear road with good visibility in summer....

[v8guinness]

Road User education... (thats all of us as pedestrians, drivers, riders (of whatever)... read an article (Telegraph i think) that suggested: as far as the Home Office is concerned the Pedestrian cannot fault, either Driver or no blame (usually driver in their opinion)!!! Pedestrian are not dangerous... Rubbish, the article ws quite good pointing out the stress a driver can suffer when they run over / nearly run over a pedestrian... over 50% of pedestrians killed are over the legal drink drive limit!!!

[macca]

I ran a pedestrian over and it scared the sh!t out of me! I was driving along at 30mph, lots of witnesses, thank f!!ck. I watched him from about 100meters, toes on the edge of the pavement. When I got about 20 feet away he stepped out and faced me, everything went into slow motion, I took his knees away and he did a 180 degree roll, smashed the back of his head on my windscreen (caved it in good and proper) before sliding down the bonnet (caved that in too) and onto the deck. (must scan the photos and host them) Fortunately, all he had was concussion and they let him out of hospital that afternoon. Plod was on the scene in about 2 minutes, checked my car, took a few statements and told me the guy was a nutter out of the local asylum; "hard luck mate, your not the first and won't be the last, bye". I tried to sue him for damages on the grounds that he should have been under supervision but my solicitor lost the appetite and nothing came of it. Believe me, you never want to run somebody down and it be fatal!

[thub]

Have there been any successful cases where a driver has sued a pedestrian for damage to their vehicle sustained as a result of the pedestrian's actions?

[Jason F]

I think a lady was looking into it when a young girl jumped out in front of her car for all the trauma she suffered as a result ( and damage to the car of course ) but the parents went on TV to say what a heartless bitch she must be etc.. and it all sorta went away... I reckon I`d sue the parents, some of the kids in my area look for a car coming along then step out in front of it and walk slowly across the road.

[patrick]

I had a similar incident to Macca's. Saw a pedestrian waiting on the side of a dual carrigway, I moved to lane two in case she decided to go for it. At the last second, she made a dash for the other side, I hit her doing approx 30mph, she smashed her head on the windscreen, and ended up 50 feet down the road. I was in a hell of a state. Fortunatetly for me, an unmarked cop car was waiting at the lights, they saw the entire incident, and concluded there was nothing else I could've done to avoid her. The woman got away with a cut head, I had a smashed radiator, bonnet & windscreen, but I couldn't bring myself to sue her, after I had just punted her 50ft up the road. Oh, and she had been drinking aswell. Edited by patrick on Wednesday 18th April 08:46

[ADB]

Very similar here too. Bloke, half asleep, (not me !) tried to make it across 4 lanes in a one way system. I was doing 30 in a 30 as he ran out from in front of the truck in lane 3,managed to stamp on the brakes before I hit him, absolutley sh@t myself. Police wanted to prosecute me, until one of the independent witnesses stepped in and suggested I sue for damages, case dropped. I didn't sue as I'm not of the claims direct culture but it goes to show the driver is always wrong, even when they're not..