Zebra crossings and right of way. Why Irish motorists don't respect them.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

I've just arrived in the work car park in an industrial estate. My route takes me by a zebra crossing.

As I approached the zebra crossing I saw a few people walking towards it, so I slowed down in good time and stopped to let the pedestrians cross. A driver behind me did Riverdance on the horn and opened his window to scream.

We ended up pulling up side-by-side in the work car park :pac: he turned white as a ghost and apologised for beeping me.

He politely explained that we have right of way and pedestrians have to wait for a gap in the gap to cross. I begged to different. When I lived in the Netherlands, drivers treated them with the height of respect.

listermint

One driver does not make a crowd.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

listermint wrote: »

One driver does not make a crowd.

I've noticed it as a pedestrian myself too.

In the Netherlands cars will test the beacons as a stop sign. Most Irish motorists expect the pedestrians to wait.

listermint

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

I've noticed it as a pedestrian myself too.

In the Netherlands cars will test the beacons as a stop sign. Most Irish motorists expect the pedestrians to wait.

They don't. I'm a pedestrian and a driver.


You are wrong.

But sure look

robertpatterson

What makes you think all the motorists are Irish?

Irish_peppa

I have zebra crossings near me and on my daily walks I would say 95% of car drivers heed the zebra crossing. The Odd time they dont its normally some young lad with the music blaring. Most drivers are great with pedestrian crossings from my experience anyway:)

Tzardine

Obviously I do stop and let pedestrians cross, but I always wondered, are crossings without flashing beacons technically pedestrian crossings? Do pedestrians have right of way on them?

So for example a painted crossing in a tesco carpark. I don't think so.

Emmersonn

Just besause a pedestrian is walking towards a zebra crossing it does't mean the pedestrian is going to use the crossing. Traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved on to the crossing.

irelandrover

I live in the Netherlands and the other day a driver went straight through a zebra crossing outside a school without stopping. He stopped the car and shouted out the window at me after i cursed him.

So id say you're observations that everyone obeys then here is just wrong.

colm_mcm

You’re so unlucky. All these threadworthy incidents involving crazy drivers.
What’s that all about?

I’ve just arrived in the work car park in an industrial estate. My route takes me by a zebra crossing.

As I approached the zebra crossing I saw a few people walking towards it, so I slowed down in good time and stopped to let the pedestrians cross. A driver behind me did Riverdance on the horn and opened his window to scream.

We ended up pulling up side-by-side in the work car park :pac: he turned white as a ghost and apologised for beeping me.

He politely explained that we have right of way and pedestrians have to wait for a gap in the gap to cross. I begged to different. When I lived in the Netherlands, drivers treated them with the height of respect.

I was driving on an 80 km/h stretch of road which changes from 60-80-60.

I maintained a constant 50 on all stretches due to hills, blind spots and there's often cyclists on it. Its a limit not a target. There was no cyclists at the time but I like to be careful.

A male driver and his female passenger came up behind me. She started shaking her head and he was jumping like he was in a rave. I could see in the rear view mirror. She started filming my car.

We ended up side-by-side at a T-junction.
He beckoned me to put down my window. He said he'll be reporting me for careless driving (holding up traffic) and driving so slow as to be causing an obstruction.

I'm afraid they might embellish the story and exaggerate that I was doing other things that I wasn't off camera.

I'm expecting a call out or summons soon.

I popped out for a quick 10k, round cycle after work today. I finish work at 3 and arrive home at 3:30 ish I was cycling in the middle of the lane (to stop drivers squeezing by) with traffic coming on the other side. It was rush hour so traffic was busy on the other lane, but not so busy on my side.

A white transit van flew up behind me, well in excess of the 60 km/h limit blaring the horn, nearly skimming my handlebar and almost scraping off oncoming traffic. I didn't think anyone would be so selfish and idiotic.

I nearly sh1t myself. These things would discourage people from taking up cycling.
Take your time, keep your distance and overtake when safe and legal to do so.

I know most motorists are respectful and law abiding, so this doesn't apply to them, but please be careful.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

This annoys me no end.

This just doesn't happen in rush hour, it happens all times of the day.
I, as a law abiding driver, drive in the lane I should be in, and the driver behind will cut in left 10 or so metres before the bus lane ends and the dash lines start meaning I have to wait for drivers who are essentially skipping me.

It's infuriating and illegal. I was driving a vintage car today with no nearside mirror (they weren't fitted on some old cars). This makes observation of these clowns harder.

Id never leave the house if I was as unlucky as you.

sydthebeat

Not all crossings are zebra crossings.

This makes for a myriad of different reactions by drivers

Isambard

OP you are wrong to have stopped before they reached the crossing. You only have to stop for people on the crossing and it's good manners to stop for people waiting to cross.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

Isambard wrote: »

OP you are wrong to have stopped before they reached the crossing. You only have to stop for people on the crossing and it's good manners to stop for people waiting to cross.

I didn't stop before they entered the crossing.

I slowed down with the anticipation that they would enter the crossing.

And they did enter the crossing so I came to a full stop.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

sydthebeat wrote: »

Not all crossings are zebra crossings.

This makes for a myriad of different reactions by drivers

Who said they were?

sydthebeat

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

Who said they were?

No one.
Why do you think someone said they were???

JimmyVik

I see it a lot where a motorist sees people walking towards a zebra crossing and stops to wait for the crossers to make it to the road. Then they wait for the next ones who are 5 seconds behind the first ones and get stuck waiting.
You stop as the pedestrians arrive at the kerb and let them cross. If you are already on the crossing before they reach the kerb you keep going. The next car will see them rech the edge and stop for them.

Rodin

Emmersonn wrote: »

Just besause a pedestrian is walking towards a zebra crossing it does't mean the pedestrian is going to use the crossing. Traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved on to the crossing.

I walk on to the crossing and make them stop. Safely of course. No screeching brakes

Seth Brundle

Under Irish law, a pedestrian must place a foot on the crossing in order to get priority. Simply standing beside the crossing doesn't indicate intent to cross and therefore does not assign a priority.
However, that entails a pedestrian stepping out into traffic which can be dangerous and many won't do that.
As a consequence, many local authorities don't use these crossings because of the confusion over them.

Podge_irl

Emmersonn wrote: »

Just besause a pedestrian is walking towards a zebra crossing it does't mean the pedestrian is going to use the crossing. Traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved on to the crossing.

Which makes absolutely no sense, assuming the crossing is defined as the actual roadway.

Generally speaking, I would imagine the more prevalent zebra crossings are the more they are respected.

Isambard

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

I didn't stop before they entered the crossing.

I slowed down with the anticipation that they would enter the crossing.

And they did enter the crossing so I came to a full stop.

amounts to the same thing. You had no need to slow down and then come on here and slag everyone else off for not doing what you do .

bladespin

Never seen anyone disrespect a crossing tbh, some might be a little rude to them maybe.

Del2005

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Under Irish law, a pedestrian must place a foot on the crossing in order to get priority. Simply standing beside the crossing doesn't indicate intent to cross and therefore does not assign a priority.
However, that entails a pedestrian stepping out into traffic which can be dangerous and many won't do that.
As a consequence, many local authorities don't use these crossings because of the confusion over them.

Putting your foot onto the road isn't dangerous if you are looking at the traffic, if a vehicle is going to hit someone with a foot on the road then the footpath isn't any protection. I often do it at junctions and traffic stops to let me cross.

I've seen the opposite to the OP. People stopping at speed ramps to let pedestrians cross, I think it's because a lot of lollipop crossings are being done on speed ramps.

kirving

Obviously I wasn't there, and I'm taking your word for the fact any of this happened, but this is now the third time in just the past few days about drivers behind you have become visibly angry.

Did you ever hear the phrase, "If everyone around you is the problem, maybe you're the problem."

I've driven hundreds of thousands of kilometers in Ireland and also spent plenty of time in the US and Europe where I would be trying to navigate as well as drive, and can count on one hand the number of times people have become irate with me, or me with others, for whatever reason.

Do you you have the video from your cycle the other day rather than screenshots? It would be interesting to see the build up that incident.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Yet another troll like post from Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!. I am keeping an close eye on your posts.

What specifically have I posted in your motors forum that falls under the scope of trolling? Pray tell.

Idleater

irelandrover wrote: »

I live in the Netherlands and the other day a driver went straight through a zebra crossing outside a school without stopping. He stopped the car and shouted out the window at me after i cursed him.

So id say you're observations that everyone obeys then here is just wrong.

I've been in the Netherlands a lot, and I agree, the Dutch wouldn't be my benchmark for obeying crossings. I've had drivers drive around me rather than stop.

Having said that, in the case the op outlines, standing on the horn berating someone for stopping at a crossing isn't great.

Isambard

Del2005 wrote: »

Putting your foot onto the road isn't dangerous if you are looking at the traffic, if a vehicle is going to hit someone with a foot on the road then the footpath isn't any protection. I often do it at junctions and traffic stops to let me cross.

I've seen the opposite to the OP. People stopping at speed ramps to let pedestrians cross, I think it's because a lot of lollipop crossings are being done on speed ramps.

you don't pull out of a side road if something is coming, same thing applies to stepping out on to a crossing.

Notmything

Is this your third "road rage" incident in as many days?

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2058089074/1

Starting to see a pattern

colm_mcm

Isambard wrote: »

you don't pull out of a side road if something is coming, same thing applies to stepping out on to a crossing.

You don’t need traffic to stop for you if driving out of a roadway onto the main road. You wait til there’s no traffic. You can’t make a valid comparison between a junction and a pedestrian crossing.

You also shouldn’t just walk across pedestrian crossings assuming traffic will or must stop. The traffic must know the pedestrian wants to cross and the pedestrian must know that the car is stopping.

There are rules for use of pedestrian crossings for both drivers and pedestrians. The main reason for putting one foot on the crossing is to stop numpties slamming on the brakes once they see someone in the vicinity of a crossing.

Del2005

Isambard wrote: »

you don't pull out of a side road if something is coming, same thing applies to stepping out on to a crossing.

We are taking about walking not driving. The rules for a pedestrian at a zebra crossing is to put their foot on the road and traffic has to stop.

bazz26

Looking at the OP's post history and thread topic themes, not only are they a magnet for bad luck but they also seem to love a bit of drama.

MrMusician18

As a pedestrian I find that most drivers do heed pedestrian crossings and will slow when they see someone walking towards them. These are the vast majority.

However it only takes one car to kill you so I wait at the crossing until I'm confident the car approaching is slowing before stepping out. It's only the odd car that continues to barrel through.

Instead of having the guy pull up beside you in the work car park, you should have made him the guy who turned up at 10am to interview for a high paying role you're looking to fill.

chalky_ie

I'm not sure a single thing you've posted about since joining has actually happened in real life.

_Brian

Was stepping out onto a zebra crossing few years ago and car came straight on through and knocked folder out of my hand with its wing mirror.

I watched it approach and honestly thought the driver saw me. But obviously not.

swarlb

irelandrover wrote: »

I live in the Netherlands and the other day a driver went straight through a zebra crossing outside a school without stopping. He stopped the car and shouted out the window at me after i cursed him.

So id say you're observations that everyone obeys then here is just wrong.

Probably an Irish driver....