People walking on main roads

KwackerJack

Why in the name of god to people walk down dangerous roads wearing complete inappropriate clothing.

On Monday I witnessed an elderly woman pushing a dark blue buggy wearing a black over coat and walking along a busy main road with no hard shoulder.

The sun was directly in front of me which made seeing the woman near impossible and the dark clothing didn't help at all. She was practically pushing the buggy into the ditch to avoid being ran over. Other vehicles only noticed her at the last minute due to the sun and the vehicles on the opposite side were forced into the ditch to avoid the oncoming traffic.

I know that people have a right to walk around there own area or wherever they please and some have this ' I'm a pedestrian and I've right of way' attitude but for god sake why put yourself in danger?? :mad:

This morning I met a man wearing olive green combats and walking his dog on the same stretch of road. Again unless you were scanning the ditch line every second he was impossible to see until you were right on top of him??

What would happen if he was on a bad bend when a vehicle came around??

The road its self is very bumpy and there have been fatality's due to the fact that its like a rolling valley with potholes.

Is it just me are does this drive other drivers crazy?

I'm not asking that people stop walking to at least be safe

Ilik Urgee

Not half as bad as those cyclists who cycle 2 abreast:mad:

Boo2112

Have we been reading the cycling on backroads thread?

KwackerJack

Ilik Urgee wrote: »

Not half as bad as those cyclists who cycle 2 abreast:mad:

Ah yea, I love sitting just in front of them on the bike. Gives them something to listen to

No Boo2112 there's to many of them to read :eek:

Last pedestrian that died on that road was drunk and decapitated, not a nice way to go!

humbert

It is dangerous and hi-vis is advisable but it takes me to the fair the way drivers feel put out by situations where they have to pay attention to the road/drive cautiously.

If you can't see a person in broad daylight you shouldn't be driving.

Tiddlypeeps

De ja vu.

vicwatson

And as for those feckin joggers that decide to either run in the cycle lane or on the main road instead the footpath.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....and the ones that run on the road with headphones, even more grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

KwackerJack

humbert wrote: »

It is dangerous and hi-vis is advisable but it takes me to the fair the way drivers feel put out by situations where they have to pay attention to the road/drive cautiously.

If you can't see a person in broad daylight you shouldn't be driving.

I never said I could not see them, but dress appropriate and not in olive green clothing walking along a green hedge line.

For the record with cyclist's, I have no problem them riding abreast but just move in when you hear oncoming traffic.

No more cyclist talk

We have new paths around my area yet people walk along the road beside the paths?? do we need signs now to show people where to walk

the groutch

they have to because of all the cyclists on the footpaths.

AK333

I'd have to agree with you. I live on a narrow (boreen) rural road with no street lights and walkers flock to it but the amount of people that wear dark colours, though put a reflective collar on the dog,is unbelievable.

Just wear high vis or a light colour - its not rocket science.

The runners funny enough don't bother me

artanevilla

I like to knock them down to teach them a lesson.

NIMAN

+1 on the dark clothing on country roads.

I think it should be an offence to walk on roads without reflective bibs. I got one delivered for a few quid, worth it for something that could save your life.

I live in a rural location, and the number of people who walk on dangerous roads in dark clothes is shocking. Add to that, many of those with bibs are using ones that seem to have no refelctive material in them at all, so not much better.

I once had to veer out of the way of a guy on a back road (no pavement/no street lighting) in November who was walking along in all black and who I barely seen at the last minute. Was badly shaken for a while, not sure if he was or even if I had nearly hit him.

Love2love

I live in the city and I walk on the road sometimes because of the amount of dog crap on the footpath. Disgusting!

Celly Smunt

The worst offenders are people jogging on main roads.Use the paths.

opti0nal

KwackerJack wrote: »

Why in the name of god to people walk down dangerous ....The sun was directly in front of me which made seeing the woman near impossible

Roads are not dangerous, it's the people who drive on them.

If you can't see very well due to the strong sun, then you must, by law, slow down to a speed that is safe.

This is another reason why people should not allow themselves to be forced on the hard shoulder by aggressive drivers.

Celly Smunt

opti0nal wrote: »

Roads are not dangerous, it's the people who drive on them.

If you can't see very well due to the strong sun, then you must, by law, slow down to a speed that is safe.

This is another reason why people should not allow themselves to be forced on the hard shoulder by aggressive drivers.

so a car travelling at 20km/ph wouldn't do damage to an idiot walking on the hard shoulder?

Alun

Well, 20 km per picohour is pretty damn fast.

(Hint: there's no such unit as km/ph it's km/h)

Lando Griffin

pmcmahon wrote: »

The worst offenders are people jogging on main roads.Use the paths.

Nothing worse than a person cycling in the road beside a cycle path.
Scum of the earth.

humbert

pmcmahon wrote: »

so a car travelling at 20km/ph wouldn't do damage to an idiot walking on the hard shoulder?

Would make a massive difference:
http://www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/speed-limits/speed-limits_stopping-distances-cars.html

I'm fairly sure someone has explained to Lando why that view is silly before.

KwackerJack

opti0nal wrote: »

Roads are not dangerous, it's the people who drive on them.

If you can't see very well due to the strong sun, then you must, by law, slow down to a speed that is safe.

This is another reason why people should not allow themselves to be forced on the hard shoulder by aggressive drivers.

In was going slow, As was the car in front but how slow can you go and not be a danger to a vehicle behind.

Fact is no matter how slow I went it was still very hard to see the woman dressed in black and at 20 / 30 mph its still going to be sore for the person walking

schnitzelEater

Idiots.

HondaSami

KwackerJack wrote: »

Why in the name of god to people walk down dangerous roads wearing complete inappropriate clothing.

The sun was directly in front of me which made seeing the woman near impossible

This morning I met a man

Both people were walking during the day, this is allowed.

If drivers fail to see pedestrians during daylight then they have zero chance of seeing anyone walking in the dark.

opti0nal

pmcmahon wrote: »

so a car travelling at 20km/ph wouldn't do damage to an idiot walking on the hard shoulder?

If a pedestrian is hit by a car which is driving on the hard shoulder at 20mph, he or she would most likely be quite seriously injured. Mostly, though, cars I see on the hard shoulder are doing 60-80, a speed likely to kill.

I suppose it might be idiotic to expect all drivers to drive at appropriate speeds and stay on the road.

opti0nal

KwackerJack wrote: »

Fact is no matter how slow I went it was still very hard to see the woman dressed in black and at 20 / 30 mph its still going to be sore for the person walking

Well, you didn't hit her. Driving is a heavy responsibility.

Cerulean Chicken

I was once going around a small roundabout in Galway city with lots of trees in the middle of it, it was absolutely pis$ing rain and visibility was very poor, the kind of rain that you need the wipers on full speed and it still doesn't help much. As I was going around the roundabout I got the fright of my life, a man was walking along the edge of the actual roundabout, in navy wet gear, so as I went around it he just appeared out of nowhere to the right of my car.

Luckily the place was quiet at the time so I wasn't in the inside lane completely because there were no other cars around to be in the other lane, wtf was he at like.

opti0nal

Cerulean Chicken wrote: »

As I was going around the roundabout I got the fright of my life, a man was walking along the edge of the actual roundabout, in navy wet gear, ... wtf was he at like.

Maybe he was trying to cross the road in heavy rain?

Cerulean Chicken

opti0nal wrote: »

Maybe he was trying to cross the road in heavy rain?

There were places to cross each road leading into the roundabout, there was no need to be walking around the edge of the central roundabout part, I have never known anyone to cross a road by actually hopping across the roundabout in the middle?

sorsha

The answer to this is :this country is ages after other European countries in terms of public transport (including walking), roads and paths are designed like everyone has a car and must use it. Buses are ancient- have no air conditioning and they smell. If you want to get anywhere you must use car!
You cant even take your dog on bus! Its ridiculous.
In Poland in almost every city there are long cycling paths, pedestians paths are wide and over big roads as well.

sorsha

Cerulean Chicken wrote: »

There were places to cross each road leading into the roundabout, there was no need to be walking around the edge of the central roundabout part, I have never known anyone to cross a road by actually hopping across the roundabout in the middle?

In Galway there are very busy roundabouts with no pedestrians crossings around them -I think this is crazy and I have never seen it before (until I came to Ireland)

pumpingiron

Lando Griffin wrote: »

Nothing worse than a person cycling in the road beside a cycle path.
Scum of the earth.

Does anyone know why SO many cyclists do that. I live on a wide road with footpath and cycle lane side by side, yet 9 out of 10 cyclists use the fecking road ? WHY ?........

Steve O

You know what I've seen quite a bit lately, young girls with thick leopard print fur coats.

There was me thinking the Pat Butcher look was no longer "with it" as a young ragamuffin might ponder.

opti0nal

Cerulean Chicken wrote: »

There were places to cross each road leading into the roundabout, there was no need...

Were the pedestrian signalled crossing places within 15 metres of where the man was crossing?

Cerulean Chicken wrote: »

I have never known anyone to cross a road by actually hopping across the roundabout in the middle?

People take shortcuts. I see drivers going the wrong way around roundabouts all the time.

Mr Benevolent

KwackerJack wrote: »

In was going slow, As was the car in front but how slow can you go and not be a danger to a vehicle behind.

Fact is no matter how slow I went it was still very hard to see the woman dressed in black and at 20 / 30 mph its still going to be sore for the person walking

You need to be more careful. You are liable if you hit a pedestrian, no matter what the circumstances. And yes, I've had a few brown trouser moments myself, that's why I switched to left foot braking. If the sun is in your eyes put the visor down or wear sunglasses. It's not entirely rocket science.

EoghanIRL

Two abreast on a corner like ffs...

opti0nal

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

You need to be more careful.

Let's be fair here, he was being careful and did not hit the pedestrian. But, he did not approve of the way she was dressed. The solution is obvious - all citizens must wear high-vis clothing when they go outside of their homes. Motorists will be permitted to take off the high vis, only while sat inside their cars.

humbert

pumpingiron wrote: »

Does anyone know why SO many cyclists do that. I live on a wide road with footpath and cycle lane side by side, yet 9 out of 10 cyclists use the fecking road ? WHY ?........

On footpath cycle lanes are often dangerous. If they cross sideroads then emerging traffic wont yield. Often people don't notice the cycle lane and walk in it. There is often rubbish/wet leaves in it. They often wind around obstacles like bus stops. Really, the reason for it is quite rational; it's not to piss drivers off.

NuckingFacker

I agree this is a dangerous issue. If we're not careful, someone is going to end up getting run down by a car some day. Then all hell will break loose. Pure Luck it hasn't happened yet really.

I once saw this woman who constantly refuses to walk on the pavements. Seemingly she believes they're haunted.