To feel sad at how much worse life is for pedestrians than it was ten years ago

Pavements in Japan are unchanged in 10 years. They have always hated pedestrians! But speed limits are waaay slower, so it doesn’t feel as treacherous (in my experience)

It's all the animals that are killed by motor vehicles that upset me too.

You can get away with loads as a motorist (and I say this as someone who is both a driver and a pedestrian). If a person wanted to harm people, doing it by car will probably get them the least sentence. Or marry them and claim it's domestic so a lesser sentence.

And agree re phone screens. I always see drivers holding a phone or looking down at one in their lap in slow- moving traffic.

Definitely worth having a dashcam.

You want to come to Wales! Many of our roads don’t even have pavements! 😬

In spite of us having an aging population, I don't often see elderly people out and about much now. I think the outside world is forcing them to remain indoors.

The driving in my area of London is now so bad I dread leaving the house. Cars speed through red lights on a daily basis, I've seen cars driving on pavements multiple times, a neighbour of mine was knocked in to by a car while on the pavement, I've seen cars speed up at pedestrians on zebra crossings. Not to mention food delivery drivers on ebikes speeding along the pavement when there are plenty of empty cycle lanes.

Japanese people are extremely courteous, including cyclists.

It's really not good enough is it? Planners really really need to be more thoughtful of all users - and make spaces that are safe for pedestrian, wheelchair, and cycle alike.

Because there are loads where i am, often with their babies on the bike, and i'm driving a heavy metal vehicle 🤷‍♀️

I'm a human who cares about others, what can I say

Absolutely shocking. Stopping at red lights seems to have become optional. Many times I see 3 cars go through on full red. I haven't witnessed an accident yet, unbelievably.
I refuse to drive on motorways now, it's pot luck whether you actually get out alive these days

Why are you so stressed about not hitting them? Just use your eyes and don't drive into them. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Agreed. It's such a regular occurrence for cars to unexpectedly swing off the main road into a side street when someone is crossing. No indicator just a blaring horn because they are annoyed at having to slow down. It would be helpful to have stripes painted at junctions.

Half the reason it is 'worse' is that 2/3 the pedestrians are on their phone and NOT watching where they are going. If you go for a walk, and keep your eyes and ears open then you'll see a lot of hazards before they get to you.
(and same for the 1/3 car drivers distracted by screens - I was counting them on the M25 last night)

Cyclists are legitimate road users, as are horses, large, slow-moving vehicles etc. You should not be getting stressed by trying not to hit them.

Indeed. Trouble is pedestrians know that many drivers don't know about it so the pedestrians, valuing their life, still wait. This reinforces the pattern and nothing changes.

Yes, my everyday experience is the stress of not hitting a helmetless cyclist distracting from other aspects of driving

Its just dangerous for everyone 🥺🥺

Sometimes you even see parents cycling with their babies strapped to the bike

Motor vehicles seriously injure, on average, 15 people per day in the UK. For bicycles, the figure is around 2 per week. Your perception of risk is rather skewed.

You think cyclists are causing all the harm? The statistics would suggest that’s very much not the case.

I walk to work along a busy main road with lots of side streets. I fear for my life every time I cross a side street as cars will swing in from nowhere as I've already started crossing and blare their horn at me (I have checked for cars before stepping out and, technically, it's the road crosser's right of way). I hate it. Everyone is so impatient.

Indeed. I felt safer during our visits to Japan than I do in much of the UK. Again, OP, please don’t be put off going.

To be honest, you sound over-anxious about this if you’re allowing a comment about cyclists in Japan to stop you from going to country you clearly want to visit and is known for being a well-ordered and well-behaved society.

I’m in London and am a pedestrian, public transport user, driver and occasional cyclist. Being a pedestrian is far and away the least stressful of all of those.