so busy being p*ssed off I nearly ran over a pedestrian
Discussion
So, out for a ride the other night, lit up brighter than most cars.
Some idiot decided not to give way at a roundabout (I was expecting it tbh) and cut me up while shaking his head....
More than a little annoyed, I then nearly missed seeing the unlit, black wearing ped who decided to step out onto a pedestrian crossing straight in front of me - luckily my cx has damn good brakes even in the damp.
At the end of it, there's a geriatric in a range rover leaving me pissed off, and a pedestrian thinking exactly the same thoughts about cyclists...
Pretty certain there's a lesson to be learned here (as well as the obvious "don't step out straight in front of sodding cyclists!")
Some idiot decided not to give way at a roundabout (I was expecting it tbh) and cut me up while shaking his head....
More than a little annoyed, I then nearly missed seeing the unlit, black wearing ped who decided to step out onto a pedestrian crossing straight in front of me - luckily my cx has damn good brakes even in the damp.
At the end of it, there's a geriatric in a range rover leaving me pissed off, and a pedestrian thinking exactly the same thoughts about cyclists...
Pretty certain there's a lesson to be learned here (as well as the obvious "don't step out straight in front of sodding cyclists!")
Steffan said:
There may be the lesson
"Drive expecting pedestrians in 30mph limits to use pedestrian crossings"
It is the riders/drivers duty to drive with care in built up areas. Fact of life.
Indeed, however I meant more along the lines of "doing unto others as had just been done to you, through inattention no matter the cause""Drive expecting pedestrians in 30mph limits to use pedestrian crossings"
It is the riders/drivers duty to drive with care in built up areas. Fact of life.
Thought it was slightly ironic.....
question re zebra crossing. not happened to me, just curious.
car is driving. enters the zig zag section.
pedestrian walks across the road on the crossing section without looking and not giving any indication to traffic of his intentions.
car does not have time to react and hits pedestrian.
who is at fault?
is it default pedestrian right of way and car driver needs to anticipate anticipate (and hope)?
genuine question, genuinely don't know the answer...
car is driving. enters the zig zag section.
pedestrian walks across the road on the crossing section without looking and not giving any indication to traffic of his intentions.
car does not have time to react and hits pedestrian.
who is at fault?
is it default pedestrian right of way and car driver needs to anticipate anticipate (and hope)?
genuine question, genuinely don't know the answer...
Rob_T said:
question re zebra crossing. not happened to me, just curious.
car is driving. enters the zig zag section.
pedestrian walks across the road on the crossing section without looking and not giving any indication to traffic of his intentions.
car does not have time to react and hits pedestrian.
who is at fault?
is it default pedestrian right of way and car driver needs to anticipate anticipate (and hope)?
genuine question, genuinely don't know the answer...
In the UK if you hit a pedestrian on crossing - I don't think there is any doubt the driver is at fault for driving without due care and attention. (I was charged with DWDCAT when I bumped a teenager who ran across a roundabout junction (I was looking to the right for traffic and he ran from the left across the entry to the roundabout). car is driving. enters the zig zag section.
pedestrian walks across the road on the crossing section without looking and not giving any indication to traffic of his intentions.
car does not have time to react and hits pedestrian.
who is at fault?
is it default pedestrian right of way and car driver needs to anticipate anticipate (and hope)?
genuine question, genuinely don't know the answer...
In the US it will be the fault of the pedestrian, even if the car runs a red light, the green man is showing, and a police office witnesses it, with a video recorder. The pedestrian will be prosectued for walking without due care, and they'll be expected to pay repairs on the car (slight exageration but the driver who hit the UK girl in NY during a road-rage incident was never charged for any offence).
To add in 2 years living in the US, and not once has a car stopped at a pedstrian crossing, at least in the UK if someone saw you standing at a zebera crossing there's 50/50 chance they would stop. (The taxi's here assume zebera crossings are their parking zone).
I don't profess to knowing the detail of the law, but as far as I understand it, if a pedestrian is waiting on the footway at the edge of a 'zebra' crossing, traffic on the carriageway is not obliged to stop, but, as soon as the pedestrian puts a foot on the crossing, you are absolutely required to give way to that pedestrian.
When I was at school, our local vicar ended up on crutches after he stepped out in front of a car at a particularly oft-ignored zebra crossing, while he was on the way to the council offices for a meeting to discuss that very issue. The car ran over his foot, breaking several bones.
In practice, most people stop to allow pedestrians to cross by making a judgement on how close to, and how quickly they are moving toward a crossing, because we hope that when we have to use a crossing, others will show a similar spirit of cooperation.
One particular pet hate is cyclists using 'zebra' crossings. This is because their approach speed is far higher than a pedestrian's and it leaves a driver with far less time to assess, plan, and execute a safe stop. In my opinion, cyclists should dismount to use a PEDESTRIAN crossing, even where it crosses between shared use paths on both sides. Another one that annoys is idiot pedestrians who mill around, and stand at the edge of a crossing, with no intention of using it. I can't read their minds, so stop, expecting them to step out, but they just stand there in their own private world, annoying and needlessly delaying others for the sake of being a little more aware of their surroundings and standing 3 feet further from the crossing. My biggest bugbear, though, is arrogant drivers who ignore the fact that a pedestrian is already using a crossing, and drive AT the pedestrian, or manoeuvre around them before they've finished crossing. It is cowardly aggressive bullying of the lowest order. FFS, just wait another 5 seconds before you roar off up the road to join the back of the queue which you can already see waiting at the PeLiCon crossing a few hundred yards up the road. (Old Portsmouth Road, form the Frimley roundabout toward Frimley Park Hospital, for those that know it
)
When I was at school, our local vicar ended up on crutches after he stepped out in front of a car at a particularly oft-ignored zebra crossing, while he was on the way to the council offices for a meeting to discuss that very issue. The car ran over his foot, breaking several bones.
In practice, most people stop to allow pedestrians to cross by making a judgement on how close to, and how quickly they are moving toward a crossing, because we hope that when we have to use a crossing, others will show a similar spirit of cooperation.
One particular pet hate is cyclists using 'zebra' crossings. This is because their approach speed is far higher than a pedestrian's and it leaves a driver with far less time to assess, plan, and execute a safe stop. In my opinion, cyclists should dismount to use a PEDESTRIAN crossing, even where it crosses between shared use paths on both sides. Another one that annoys is idiot pedestrians who mill around, and stand at the edge of a crossing, with no intention of using it. I can't read their minds, so stop, expecting them to step out, but they just stand there in their own private world, annoying and needlessly delaying others for the sake of being a little more aware of their surroundings and standing 3 feet further from the crossing. My biggest bugbear, though, is arrogant drivers who ignore the fact that a pedestrian is already using a crossing, and drive AT the pedestrian, or manoeuvre around them before they've finished crossing. It is cowardly aggressive bullying of the lowest order. FFS, just wait another 5 seconds before you roar off up the road to join the back of the queue which you can already see waiting at the PeLiCon crossing a few hundred yards up the road. (Old Portsmouth Road, form the Frimley roundabout toward Frimley Park Hospital, for those that know it
)15 years ago we enjoyed holidaying in Italy, where traffic isn't required to stop when pedestrians walk across a zebra crossing! They merely avoid you..... My wife was ok with this and crossed, trusting the drivers. I, however couldn't get used to it at all. I have to say though, that they seemed to be better drivers! Faster, weaving all around and lots of mopeds as well, and they seemingly had eyes everywhere and missed everything.
On our return to UK whilst crossing a zebra in our local town on a quiet Sunday morning, I had to leap out of the way of a fast-moving van which had ample time to see and stop, and I don't think he even saw me. I add that I hadn't adopted the Italian method either.
On our return to UK whilst crossing a zebra in our local town on a quiet Sunday morning, I had to leap out of the way of a fast-moving van which had ample time to see and stop, and I don't think he even saw me. I add that I hadn't adopted the Italian method either.
Rob_T said:
question re zebra crossing. not happened to me, just curious.
car is driving. enters the zig zag section.
pedestrian walks across the road on the crossing section without looking and not giving any indication to traffic of his intentions.
car does not have time to react and hits pedestrian.
who is at fault?
is it default pedestrian right of way and car driver needs to anticipate anticipate (and hope)?
genuine question, genuinely don't know the answer...
Highway code rule 195 advises.car is driving. enters the zig zag section.
pedestrian walks across the road on the crossing section without looking and not giving any indication to traffic of his intentions.
car does not have time to react and hits pedestrian.
who is at fault?
is it default pedestrian right of way and car driver needs to anticipate anticipate (and hope)?
genuine question, genuinely don't know the answer...
https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-159-to-203/pedes...
In short, if you hit a pedestrian on a crossing, it's your fault. That's why they're covered in black and white stripes, poles with flashing lights, zig zags, and give way lines. Vehicles should anticipate pedestrians crossing and wait if it looks likely.
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