Stopping at zebra crossings

Crock Rock

I approached a pedestrian crossing.
There was people there wanting to cross, so I stopped at the threshold of the crossing and the people crossed.


Further up the road, at a red light, a man got out of his car with a face redder than the stop light, banged on the back window as he approached the front of the car and tried to open my door.


He roared, "I nearly went into the fucking back of you, we have right of way on the road, the pedestrians have to wait" ... I kept saying that we have to yield to pedestrians at yellow beacons but he kept getting angrier and angrier and saying how he'll smash the windows in and to come out and face him like a grown up. He said "he'll smash me up including the skank there" (a girl I work with I was giving a lift home to).



Surely I was in the right, at amber beacons you can only proceed if there are no pedestrians....


I notice it a lot myself when I go to pedestrian crossings with amber beacons >99.999% of drivers will plough on and expect me to wait for a break in traffic and blare the horn if I have the temerity to walk out.


I noticed I was in Poland and cars would robotically and religiously stop at ALL pdestrian crossings. I remember being drunk and standing at the crossing in Kraków and texting on my phone, there were cars sitting at the crossing one beeped then a woman pedestrian explained and laughed with (at? :P ) me saying that I was holding up the cars and they were stopped waiting for me.


Later on when I sobered up I realised how disciplined the drivers were for doing that.


Why do people ignore pedestrian crossings here?

D3V!L

Just to clarify, what colour was the light you stopped at when the pedestrians were crossing ?

Crock Rock

D3V!L wrote: »

Just to clarify, what colour was the light you stopped at when the pedestrians were crossing ?

Flashing amber beacons (the yellow balls at the zebra crossing).

D3V!L

Crock Rock wrote: »

Flashing amber beacons (the yellow balls at the zebra crossing).

Was it a zebra crossing ?

uck51js9zml2yt

Crock Rock wrote: »

I approached a pedestrian crossing.
There was people there wanting to cross, so I stopped at the threshold of the crossing and the people crossed.


Further up the road, at a red light, a man got out of his car with a face redder than the stop light, banged on the back window as he approached the front of the car and tried to open my door.


He roared, "I nearly went into the fucking back of you, we have right of way on the road, the pedestrians have to wait" ... I kept saying that we have to yield to pedestrians at yellow beacons but he kept getting angrier and angrier and saying how he'll smash the windows in and to come out and face him like a grown up. He said "he'll smash me up including the skank there" (a girl I work with I was giving a lift home to).



Surely I was in the right, at amber beacons you can only proceed if there are no pedestrians....


I notice it a lot myself when I go to pedestrian crossings with amber beacons >99.999% of drivers will plough on and expect me to wait for a break in traffic and blare the horn if I have the temerity to walk out.


I noticed I was in Poland and cars would robotically and religiously stop at ALL pdestrian crossings. I remember being drunk and standing at the crossing in Kraków and texting on my phone, there were cars sitting at the crossing one beeped then a woman pedestrian explained and laughed with (at? :P ) me saying that I was holding up the cars and they were stopped waiting for me.


Later on when I sobered up I realised how disciplined the drivers were for doing that.


Why do people ignore pedestrian crossings here?

In Slovakia it's a case of driving faster coming up to the pedestrian crossing.

Crock Rock

D3V!L wrote: »

Was it a zebra crossing ?

It was a crossing with flashing amber balls .... whatever that is called.

Abel Ruiz

D3V!L wrote: »

Was it a zebra crossing ?

You taking the wee wee????

D3V!L

Crock Rock wrote: »

It was a crossing with flashing amber balls .... whatever that is called.

Well then you were totally in the right.

Seth Brundle

The ignorant prick should have been far enough back that he wouldn't go into you regardless.
He is in completely the wrong if you were at a flashing pedestrian crossing anyhow.
Report him for road rage for sure! Might calm him down a bit!

Crock Rock

D3V!L wrote: »

Well then you were totally in the right.

Thanks that's what I though. I always notice in Ireland that motorists expext pdestrians to yield to them and wait for traffic to break.

Wishbone Ash

Is the pedestrian obliged to place a foot on the roadway to signal their intent at a zebra crossing or is that just a figment of my imagination?

Crock Rock

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Is the pedestrian obliged to place a foot on the roadway to signal their intent at a zebra crossing or is that just a figment of my imagination?

Could be a myth, but you may be right, still, the majority of motorists would probably still plough on.


It's tough out there, especially for cyclists.

D3V!L

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Is the pedestrian obliged to place a foot on the roadway to signal their intent at a zebra crossing or is that just a figment of my imagination?

Yes that's it. When their foot is on the road it means the car has to yeild . If not they could be just standing near the crossing and no intention of using it.

is_that_so

https://www.thejournal.ie/difference-between-zebra-and-pelican-crossing-3751758-Dec2017/

tcawley29

Pedestrians have the right of way. You were 100% right OP

Crock Rock

So it was a zebra crossing according to the definition in the article

Thread title amended.

boombang

I hope you took his number plate number down. He deserves to be reported. I also think he should be facing some sort of criminal charge for threatening behaviour.

OldMrBrennan83

I notice I get blown at more and more these days for stopping for pedestrians or cyclists at them but as far as I ever knew you're supposed to let people cross.

punisher5112

Get a dash cam.....

Crock Rock

punisher5112 wrote: »

Get a dash cam.....

I have two, one facing forwards and one back.


I didn't report it, nor will I.



I expect nothing to come of it, no point so.

Spook_ie

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

I notice I get blown at more and more these days for stopping for pedestrians or cyclists at them but as far as I ever knew you're supposed to let people cross.

If it's a cyclist he has no pedestrian crossing rights unless he has dismounted his bike, in which case he legally becomes a pedestrian.

OldMrBrennan83

Spook_ie wrote: »

If it's a cyclist he has no pedestrian crossing rights unless he has dismounted his bike, in which case he legally becomes a pedestrian.

I know that but they use them even if they shouldn't and I don't want to be peeling one off my bonnet.

Isambard

they have the right of the way once on the crossing and it is common courtesy to stop for them if they are waiting even if they haven't started crossing,. The other driver is an ignorant prick and should have been reading the road better and anticipated you stopping OP.

punisher5112

Crock Rock wrote: »

I have two, one facing forwards and one back.


I didn't report it, nor will I.



I expect nothing to come of it, no point so.

Why didn't you say that to him?

McCrack

Crock Rock wrote: »

I have two, one facing forwards and one back.


I didn't report it, nor will I.



I expect nothing to come of it, no point so.

Put it up here for the giggles

Del2005

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Is the pedestrian obliged to place a foot on the roadway to signal their intent at a zebra crossing or is that just a figment of my imagination?

Yes they are. Also at a junction if a pedestrian puts their foot into the junction 1st the all cars have to give right of way. I've rarely been brave enough to try.

JeffKenna

Throw the dashcam up here OP

GarIT

It's an interesting debate which way it should be. You could argue that pedestrians should always have priority for many reasons including to encourage walking, that pedestrians are in more danger and that it's **** to be waiting in the cold or rain. Although vehicles having to brake and then accelerate accounts for most of the environmental damage done by cars. Some countries are taking ramps off bus routes and areas where trucks drive for that reason

OldMrBrennan83

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

I notice I get blown at more and more these days for stopping for pedestrians or cyclists at them but as far as I ever knew you're supposed to let people cross.

I will always stop for pedestrians at a cross but I will go out if my way to block a cyclist attempting to get across a pedestrian crossing while cycling.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Crock Rock wrote: »

Could be a myth, but you may be right, still, the majority of motorists would probably still plough on.


It's tough out there, especially for cyclists.

I reckon motorists can tell by the direction the pedestrian is heading. Technically, a foot must be on the road, I think, but my experience is that motorists generally slow down if you’re at or near the edge of the path and walking with purpose in the direction of the road. But, as a pedestrian, I always look now. I had a scary experience about a decade ago. I had the green man and strode across, only looking up about halfway across the road, only to see a van careening towards me, the driver furiously talking into his phone. I jumped back and he missed me by inches. He never seemed to register me at all. I indignantly told my father about it later and he was mostly sympathetic but did say “Remember, it’s cross with caution. No point being right if you’re dead.” So I always look first now.

grogi

Crock Rock wrote: »

I have two, one facing forwards and one back.


I didn't report it, nor will I.



I expect nothing to come of it, no point so.

You can be sure of one thing only: nothing will happen if you don't report...

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

iamtony

Of course you were in the right to stop op. Even if there wasn't a zebra crossing and someone was crossing the road you are obliged to stop and let them cross. Pedestrians have ultimate right of way, if you hit them it's almost always the drivers fault.

Danger781

Considering you have dash cam footage, and a witness to everything that happened, I really believe you should be reporting that man. He sounds like a danger to pedestrians if he doesn't understand the basic fundamentals of a zebra crossing, and a danger to other motorists if he nearly went into the back of you in what I assume is a 50km zone. Also his aggressive threatening behavior should not be tolerated. I would be pretty confident that isn't the first time he's done something like that.

If the guards do nothing about it so be it, but at least you've done your due diligence.

selectamatic

JeffKenna wrote: »

Throw the dashcam up here OP

Bump

punisher5112

selectamatic wrote: »

Bump

Is the bump ok?

Crock Rock

Crock Rock wrote: »

Why do people ignore pedestrian crossings here?

Yeah, not in my experience.

I've never been beeped at for stopping to let a person cross the road whether at a zebra crossing or not. I've seen some drivers (rarely) keep driving through a zebra crossing when it was obvious that a person was likely to use a zebra crossing (but they don't have to technically, and is just bad manners). However, I can't remember a driver ever continuing through a zebra crossing once a pedestrian had started to cross.

I find the OPs assertion bizzare.

fricatus

Danger781 wrote: »

Considering you have dash cam footage, and a witness to everything that happened, I really believe you should be reporting that man. He sounds like a danger to pedestrians if he doesn't understand the basic fundamentals of a zebra crossing, and a danger to other motorists if he nearly went into the back of you in what I assume is a 50km zone. Also his aggressive threatening behavior should not be tolerated. I would be pretty confident that isn't the first time he's done something like that.

If the guards do nothing about it so be it, but at least you've done your due diligence.

Yeah, don’t assume the Guards will do nothing. I rang in a similar incidence of dangerous driving to Traffic Watch, and I had a guard on the phone later that evening asking me for my first-hand view. I didn’t want to make anything of it but the guard offered to give the guy a bollocking over the phone, which was more than enough to keep me happy. I suspect he relished the prospect too - beats paperwork!

Sounds like your friend there could do with a similar dressing down on the three counts: inattention, ignorance of the law, and threatening/abusive behaviour.

TCM

TuringBot47 wrote:

"Snowflakes"? possibly, but clearly they were clueless individuals with no real life experience. Reporting a farmer who gave them work experience to help their career is ridiculous. Maybe they should learn a little more about their chosen profession.

Crock Rock wrote:

He roared, "I nearly went into the ****ing back of you, we have right of way on the road, the pedestrians have to wait" ... I kept saying that we have to yield to pedestrians at yellow beacons but he kept getting angrier and angrier and saying how he'll smash the windows in and to come out and face him like a grown up. He said "he'll smash me up including the skank there" (a girl I work with I was giving a lift home to).

You should have taken his car number and reported him to the gardai.

PauloMN

I can't believe you didn't report him for threatening behaviour, especially when you have both front and rear dashcam footage which would show the entire incident in context, presumably also with sound.

I'd go as far as to say it's your duty to report him, as he sounds like a complete loony and needs to at least be told by the guards that his behaviour is completely unacceptable.

The guards will definitely not "do nothing" in that case.

Stoner

Crock Rock wrote:

Could be a myth, but you may be right, still, the majority of motorists would probably still plough on.

No the poster is correct. A pedestrian is to signal that they are going to use the zevra crossing by putting one foot out and waiting for cars to stop.

Pawwed Rig

Crock Rock wrote: »

Thanks that's what I though. I always notice in Ireland that motorists expext pdestrians to yield to them and wait for traffic to break.

I have never experienced that to be honest. Always found that once you put a foot on the road that the traffic will stop.

Blueshoe

Seth Brundle wrote: »

The ignorant prick should have been far enough back that he wouldn't go into you regardless.
He is in completely the wrong if you were at a flashing pedestrian crossing anyhow.
Report him for road rage for sure! Might calm him down a bit!

Report him for roadrage. Who would the op tell? His mammy?

selectamatic

punisher5112 wrote: »

Is the bump ok?

I think so but unfortunately it didn't work.

Seth Brundle

Blueshoe wrote: »

Report him for roadrage. Who would the op tell? His mammy?

Very mature response :rolleyes:

whiskeyman

Worth reposting this - always be sure you let kids know to wait before crossing that cars in both direction have stopped to allow you to cross.

This young girl has good sense... and many drivers do not...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg69a4p_mn8

Dr Turk Turkelton

<trolling removed>

whiskeyman

whiskeyman wrote: »

Worth reposting this - always be sure you let kids know to wait before crossing that cars in both direction have stopped to allow you to cross.

This young girl has good sense... and many drivers do not...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg69a4p_mn8

The car was so far back he might have just been waiting for her to step out and cross and then assumed she didn’t want to cross. She could have crossed before he reached the crossing no way on earth I’d have stood there and not crossed with the approaching car so far away.

punisher5112

Felix Scrawny Fries wrote: »

The car was so far back he might have just been waiting for her to step out and cross and then assumed she didn’t want to cross. She could have crossed before he reached the crossing no way on earth I’d have stood there and not crossed with the approaching car so far away.

Kid was taught well, some aren't great with spacial awareness or distance reading either....

The thing that really gets me is the pedestrian that makes no effort to show their intentions to cross and are walking away or towards you and suddenly change corse and especially those that don't even make it to the actual crossing and go for it.

Cerco

Stoner wrote: »

No the poster is correct. A pedestrian is to signal that they are going to use the zevra crossing by putting one foot out and waiting for cars to stop.

This is correct.
However, if you chose to stop then cars following must be at a safe distance from you to stop without issue. So the other driver was both wrong and irrational in their behavior.

Seth Brundle

Out of curiosity, which Act or SI means that pedestrians have to place a foot out at a zebra crossing?

The closest I could find is an SI from 1964 and it doesn't mention it...
S.I. No. 294/1964 - Road Traffic General Bye-Laws, 1964.

22 (9) A driver approaching a zebra crossing shall yield the right of way to a pedestrian on the crossing.

38 (2) When a vehicle is approaching a zebra crossing a pedestrian shall not step on to that crossing if his action is likely to cause the driver either to brake suddenly or to swerve.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1964/si/294/made/en/print

CelticRambler

Felix Scrawny Fries wrote: »

The car was so far back he might have just been waiting for her to step out and cross and then assumed she didn’t want to cross. She could have crossed before he reached the crossing no way on earth I’d have stood there and not crossed with the approaching car so far away.

The girl is running (towards the camera-car, towards the crossing), passes a black SUV that's travelling in the same direction, i.e. towards the crossing. She gets to the crossing, now the SUV has stopped, put on its hazard lights and is reversing into a parking space, so that's legitimate WTF? moment for her. Now she looks left, sees the camera car has slowed/stopped. When she looks back, the SUV has not completed its reversing manoeuvre and is blocking her clear view of the road, but maybe she can see the lights of another oncoming car through the windows. Lot of distortion and obstruction on her righthand side, second legitimate WTF? moment. Chances are the beige/gold SUV was concentrating on the movements of the black SUV and didn't even see her, and obviously wasn't prepared to stop, so a perfectly good call on her part.