Puddle splashing cars!

custardy

goater78 wrote: »

Yes but there is nothing wrong with driving through a puddle. The problem is driving through a puddle when a pedestrian is next to it. I don't think its feasible for a driver on a wet day to constantly brake as he drives to avoid wetting a pedestrian.

Its obviously annoying for the pedestrian but when you walk alongside a road on a wet day when there is lots of surface water you are almost certainly going to get splashed!

Im not sure if people struggle with day to day life in every way
I drive,I cycle and I walk
whilst driving I look ahead and try and plan my road position
not every puddle will be in a position it could/wil splash a pedestrian
not every pedestrian will be in a position to be splashed by a puddle.
So you drive whilst observing possible hazards ahead, that includes points in the road where a ped could be splashed by a driver not paying attention

I once had a bus driver drench me on the bike here

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=stenhouse+drive&hl=en&ll=55.932948,-3.269916&spn=0.000617,0.001588&safe=off&client=opera&hnear=Stenhouse+Dr,+Edinburgh+EH11+3NN,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=20

(The road has slightly changed and now has a lay-by at the stop)

I was on the shared path and he was coming from the left of the pic after leaving the bus stop, where the path comes closer to the road.
I was lucky to stay upright
was there nothing the driver could do?
had i lost my balance and fell in the road. was it unavoidable?

antrobus

bob_bobson wrote: »

Despite all the sniggering giggles from the ignorant this is a specific offence and could lead to prosecution...

No, it isn't a specific offence.

Section 3 RTA 1988 states "If a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, he is guilty of an offence" and that "A person is to be regarded as driving without reasonable consideration for other persons only if those persons are inconvenienced by his driving".

So there is a general offence of 'driving without reasonable consideration". CPS are of the opinion that "driving through a puddle causing pedestrians to be splashed" is an example of the kind of behaviour that is "typical" of what they are "likely to regard" as being "inconsiderate driving" which would amount to driving without reasonable consideration. But it would be up to a court to decide, in respect of any particular 'puddle splashing incident', whether or not the facts were such that an offence was committed.

emg

I cant believe that some people think it is ok to drive through puddles and splash pedestrians, how selfish! On the rare occasions there is a pedestrian next to a puddle I always go round the puddle or if there is oncoming traffic I slow right down to a speed that doesnt make a splash. How horrid to be going somewhere and get soaked (all our puddles are muddy too, in a city, imagine!), I can't believe people are ok with that.

On my route to work there are houses that flooded in the recent heavy rain specifically because traffic kept going past really fast and splashing water over their front walls which couldnt drain back out. I despair of how self-centred we have all become.

vyle

Mupette wrote: »

with the floods, people loosing their possessions, whole villages cut off, people dying because of the floods and your having a hissy fit about being splashed as a car drove into a puddle, better stay indoors until this bad weather is over

So if somebody walked up to you and punched you in the face, would a valid response be "Yeah, but people are getting bombed and killed in the middle east, so get over it."?

MamaMoo_2

On Saturday, I was waiting at the bus stop with my son in his pram. Next to the bus stop, there is a very large, deep puddle. As the bus approached, I put my hand out for him to stop. As there were no available pram seats on the bus, said driver decided to speed on past, straight through the puddle, drenching me and the pram. Luckily, the raincover was on, but I was fuming!
If you have a pram, and there are no pram seats left, the driver is supposed to give you the opportunity to fold it down. Not this guy, no, he even laughed as he drove past. Absolute git. And it was the last bus for an hour.
It would have caused no harm to himself or anyone else had he slowed down, the roads were clear of traffic, and the puddle is very big (covers the lane, widthways, and is maybe 3 metres long), and it had been there for a couple of days, so I would have expected him to a) see it as he approached or b) have prior knowledge of it, due to driving past/through it regularly.
Some drivers are clearly just idiots.

Gilbert2

bob_bobson wrote: »

Despite all the sniggering giggles from the ignorant this is a specific offence and could lead to prosecution.

Driving without reasonable consideration - Section 3 RTA 1988


driving through a puddle causing pedestrians to be splashed;

I'm afraid you have misinterpreted the legislation.

It is not a specific offence.

One could drive through a puddle and splash a pedestrian and be quite lawful in doing so, it depends on the circumstances.

For example, in very heavy traffic on a single carriageway in very heavy rain, one may be completely unable to avoid a puddle thus soaking a pedestrian, if by avoiding that puddle one would otherwise cause a collision.

The law would view a pedestrian getting a splash as less of an issue if the only other option for the driver to avoid that was to be in a collision.

loracan1

Some people are just plain ignorant. I once went on a date (just the one) with a bloke who joked about how he'd driven past a group of girls going out on a friday night and deliberately splashed them - he thought it was hilarious - I thought he was a berk.

bob_bobson

ok not a specific offence but specifically described as an example of an offence.
Splash a pedestrian and you are a poor driver 99% of the time.

Gilbert2

*gem* wrote: »

To clear a few issues up as you seem to make alot off assumptions here.

I wasn't wearing a tutu! I was wearing normal walking clothes. Thick coat, boots, trousers!

It was a tarmac bridel path that is also used as a driveway and not a road. It was not wet or muddy except for the few puddles that had formed in deep narrow pot holes .

In that case, you should get onto whoever is responsible for those potholes to get them filled in.

Roads all over the UK are full of potholes, just another obstacle the hard pressed motorist has to put up with on a daily basis.

Deep potholes will retain an amount of water long after the rain has gone and is unlikely to dry up quickly in winter months.

Unfortunately, not every pot hole can be avoided by the motorist as, often, one has to drive through/over them, to avoid a collision with another vehicle.

It sounds like you have issues with wet weather and the poor state of the roads and you want to blame the motorist for everything!

It is not our fault it rains and your council neglects their roads!

Gilbert2

bob_bobson wrote: »

ok not a specific offence but specifically described as an example of an offence.
Splash a pedestrian and you are a poor driver 99% of the time.

Now where did you get that 99% figure from? Plucked from the air?

I regularly drive the same routes daily, I know where puddles form in heavy rain, as do lots of other drivers.

There is one in particular that always form right by a bus stop.

Not only do drivers know this notorious place, but so do the bus users, which is why they stand away from it in heavy rain to not get soaked because drivers cannot avoid it, it is simply down to the design of the road.

There is a difference between splashing pedestrians on purpose and unavoidably splashing pedestrians.