Do a lot of drivers even notice that pedestrians exist ?

[phlegmatist 10]

This is just one example of many drivers' apparent obliviousness.

 

This morning the traffic lights were out of order at the junction of abbey lane with abbeydale road, at the corner of Millhouses Park (due to a fairly icky looking crash in the early hours of this morning between a civilian car and a police car).

 

Drivers were making a pretty decent stab at observing other cars, and sharing out the stopping/allowing others through etc but virtually all seemed oblivious to the groups of pedestrians periodically building up on either side of the pedestrian crossing. Did they not work out that the traffic lights being out of order also meant that the green man wasn't working either or, more likely, is it a case of 'tough doodoo - I'm in my little motorised box so am more important than you'.

 

It just makes me so frustrated that so many drivers assume that they are 'road users' whereas everyone else are just 'road borrowers'.

[SleepyHead 10]

This is just one example of many drivers' apparent obliviousness.

 

Drivers were making a pretty decent stab at observing other cars, and sharing out the stopping/allowing others through etc but virtually all seemed oblivious to the groups of pedestrians periodically building up on either side of the pedestrian crossing. Did they not work out that the traffic lights being out of order also meant that the green man wasn't working either or, more likely, is it a case of 'tough doodoo - I'm in my little motorised box so am more important than you'.

 

It just makes me so frustrated that so many drivers assume that they are 'road users' whereas everyone else are just 'road borrowers'.

 

If you're a pedestrian crossing the road then you have priority. Not that this will stop some idiot ploughing into you, of course.

 

Having said that, the number of pedestrians I see in the same area who cross the road without even bothering to look and see if there are any cars coming are quite large indeed.

[nda1970 10]

I saw this outside the station the other day when the lights weren't working. Traffic wasn't slowing down for pedestrians at all and I'm surprised that nobody got hit.

[BasilRathbon 10]

If you turn your music up really loud on your MP3 player, it makes you invincible to motor vehicles, so do this and you can cross the road whenever and wherever you like.

 

At least that's what it seems like when i see Ipod zombies crossing a road.

[JayneRay 10]

As a newly qualified driver I am amazed at pedestrians lack of thought sometimes . I know about priortiy and giving way and I do BUT some people see a crossing and do not even look up at all, or worse on light operated ones the lights are at green for cars red for them they still walk across . A fine example of this is at Hillsborough .

It would be interresting to study the amount of people who cross with the red man , however I do not have the time to do so as the iron is calling...............

[waddy 10]

It also works the other way too.I notice how people just walk across the road without even looking particularly the older generation.

[WallBuilder 10]

I've noticed that a lot of drivers who should be stopping at red lights still push on through probably knowing that they've got a few seconds before the other lights go to green. I now tend to watch the cars at several junctions where this is an evry minute occurence.

If the lights at the station weren't working I would expect and possibly even demand that a police officer is put there as a crossing patrol, that crossing is used by hundreds of people.

Maybe the answer is to bring into being a speed limit of 20 mph within the city boundary, boy I bet that would cause a bit of an uproar.

[JayneRay 10]

It would be nice to get up to 20 miles an hour:hihi:

[jayne67 10]

When driving pedestrians are a nuisance, and when a pedestrian drivers are a nuisance. thats what my old driving instructor used to say, and I think hes right. However, I have noticed more and more that pedestrians are crossing roads with headphones/earphones/ipods etc and are just oblivious to the fact that traffic is there!

 

Jayne

[nda1970 10]

If the lights at the station weren't working I would expect and possibly even demand that a police officer is put there as a crossing patrol, that crossing is used by hundreds of people.

 

That's what I thought, it seemed incredibly dangerous. Somebody was aware of it because they'd put a 'no lights' sign out.

[toonarmani 10]

If you're a pedestrian crossing the road then you have priority. Not that this will stop some idiot ploughing into you, of course.

 

Having said that, the number of pedestrians I see in the same area who cross the road without even bothering to look and see if there are any cars coming are quite large indeed.

 

Only if crossing the road at an actual pedestrian crossing point (not just to get from one side of the road to the other halfway down a street).

[goldenfleece 11]

What are pedestrians??