Cars not stopping at crossings

Obukit

pendulum wrote: »

I'm surprised you didn't learn after the first occasion.
Always make sure it's safe before crossing.

To be fair it's not always possible. I was hit once on a zebra crossing, the car on the side of the road nearest to me had stopped so I started walking across, as I was half way across a car pulled out of a side road about 20 yards from the zebra crossing and drove straight into me.

Luckily they weren't going very fast but it was a scary experience!

thelawnet

bigdave196 wrote: »

Dave_C wrote:

Also motorists kill pedestrians on zebra crossings, cyclists don't .

Actually, Cyclists can and do kill pedestrians
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/719063-cyclist-is-jailed-for-killing-by-1861-law

A case from 2008, not on a zebra crossing.

I'll donate £100 to Brake if you can find a pedestrian killed by a cyclist on a zebra crossing.

Won't be holding my breath though.

bigdave196

thelawnet wrote: »

A case from 2008, not on a zebra crossing.

I'll donate £100 to Brake if you can find a pedestrian killed by a cyclist on a zebra crossing.

Won't be holding my breath though.

Specifically Zebra Crossings? How about £50 for any kind of pedestrian crossing?

red_eye

Lum wrote: »

I'm a little confused by your post. Are you talking about a zebra crossing (black + white stripes accompanied by a flashing orange light) or a pelican crossing (no stripes, push a button, wait for green man)

If it's a zebra crossing then technically drivers only have to stop if a pedestrian is already on the crossing. You can work around this by placing a foot on the crossing, this "claims" the crossing and then drivers are legally obliged to stop.

If it's a pelican crossing this is more worrying. The lights pointing toward the drivers change to red a few seconds before the pedestrian lights turn green, most likely to deal with exactly this sort of situation. So we are talking about people blatantly breaking the law by driving through on red.

That said, I used to live in Aylesbury and, compared to my current location, the drivers there are definitely a lot more selfish and inconsiderate than where I currently live.

There was a study posted in another thread on this forum that concluded that rich people are more likely to be inconsiderate drivers than poor people, which may well have something to do with it.

I'm also convinced that driving standards are inversely proportional to population density.

my driving instructor made me stop if some one was waiting the the crossing.

AHAR

In my experience it's rare for the first car you could reasonably expect to stop for you at a zebra crossing not to do so. That's just in the UK though.
Genuine question - do zebra crossings mean anything in other European countries? It seems wherever I've gone you end up standing there like a lemon watching masses of cars go by until there's a big enough gap in the traffic to cross.

Obukit

Depends on the country but they normally don't have the same meaning as in the UK. For instance, in France "zebra" crossings simply indicate safe places to cross the road, but French drivers don't have to stop for you (most will floor it if they see you crossing a few hundred yards in front of them!).

Lum

red_eye wrote: »

my driving instructor made me stop if some one was waiting the the crossing.

Yes, and you would also fail a driving test if you did not stop.

It still isn't a legal requirement, however. Once you've passed your test, you can quite legally never stop for someone waiting at a crossing again.

If you actually do this, however, you are a <censored>.

Dave_C_2

Lum wrote: »

It still isn't a legal requirement, however. Once you've passed your test, you can quite legally never stop for someone waiting at a crossing again

I believe that the Police can still prosecute under the catch-all highway code rule 144, the second bullet point in this case.

You MUST NOT

• drive dangerously
• drive without due care and attention
• drive without reasonable consideration for other road users

[Law RTA 1988 sects 2 & 3 as amended by RTA 1991]


Dave

Sgt_Pepper_2

Lum wrote: »

Yes, and you would also fail a driving test if you did not stop.

It still isn't a legal requirement, however. Once you've passed your test, you can quite legally never stop for someone waiting at a crossing again.

If you actually do this, however, you are a <censored>.

So how about failing to accord precedence £60 and three points?

Norman_Castle

I lean out and wave at cars which could have stopped but don't. Cars pulling away while pedestrians are halfway across seems increasingly common.