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AIBU?

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

139 replies

Fragmentedbrain · 10/08/2025 09:42

Cars (especially Ubers for some reason?!) no longer reliably stop

Consequences for drivers who hit a pedestrian are minor - you won't necessarily go to jail "the first time" you kill someone and you'll have your licence back within a decade (why not banned for life???)

Roadworks used to prioritise keeping a pedestrian walkway but now it's common for one side of the pavement just to be abruptly cut off, forcing a walk across the road through traffic

And don't even get me started on bicycles on the pavement, "shared spaces" (ie spaces for bullies to race at speed on their bikes while those on foot are expected to scatter). I was actually planning a holiday to Japan until a colleague told me how unsafe the pavements have become in the last few years because of this.

It's the world over as far as I can see (although if you live in an exception could you let me know so I can visit please??) and it just feels like a big part of the dehumanisation of public life and spaces :(

OP posts:
ViciousCurrentBun · 10/08/2025 10:10

It’s the motorised scooters here with little twats in balaclavas that I can’t stand, much worse than cyclists.

squashyhat · 10/08/2025 10:08

I don't know where your friend got their info from but Japan is safe for everyone, especially if you are on foot. Drivers are clinically cautious and obey all crossing and other road signs. As long as you do too you will be fine.

Fragmentedbrain · 10/08/2025 10:07

anniegun · 10/08/2025 10:05

Just reading all the comments about cyclists being the real problem despite almost every death of a pedestrian is caused by being hit by a motorist

Cyclists are what scare me most day to day so I'm not going to pretend it's just a car problem. Urban planning has hugely increased the problem by removing protected spaces from pedestrians in crap attempts to seem cycle friendly.

OP posts:
MadameCholetsDirtySecret · 10/08/2025 10:07

I have found Japan to be very safe for pedestrians. If there are roadworks on a pavement, they have uniformed guards who ensure that pedestrians are safe using the diversion - well this was in Tokyo, but I’m sure it isn’t specific to there.

anniegun · 10/08/2025 10:05

BlueyNeedsToFuckOff · 10/08/2025 10:02

While this may be true, what does it have to do with pedestrians?

Just reading all the comments about cyclists being the real problem despite almost every death of a pedestrian is caused by being hit by a motorist

Fragmentedbrain · 10/08/2025 10:05

BlueyNeedsToFuckOff · 10/08/2025 10:02

While this may be true, what does it have to do with pedestrians?

Indeed - it always descends into this and we're left at the bottom of the heap which is bizarre since everyone is a pavement user at least sometimes surely??? We should be #1

OP posts:
BlueyNeedsToFuckOff · 10/08/2025 10:02

anniegun · 10/08/2025 10:01

Driving standards are appalling , cars take up so much of our infrastructure and public transport is barely an afterthought. Yet motorists still complain about being persecuted. They will hit a cyclist and still moan its all the cyclists fault

While this may be true, what does it have to do with pedestrians?

anniegun · 10/08/2025 10:01

Driving standards are appalling , cars take up so much of our infrastructure and public transport is barely an afterthought. Yet motorists still complain about being persecuted. They will hit a cyclist and still moan its all the cyclists fault

Fragmentedbrain · 10/08/2025 09:59

Smallgnomethingy · 10/08/2025 09:58

Cyclists definitely get planning priority at the moment, it seems. I can barely cross a road at one large section of my city.

Floating bus stops are a menace. And massive cycle paths that weave across pavements.

OP posts:
Smallgnomethingy · 10/08/2025 09:58

Cyclists definitely get planning priority at the moment, it seems. I can barely cross a road at one large section of my city.

Fragmentedbrain · 10/08/2025 09:55

MrsSkylerWhite · 10/08/2025 09:52

Don’t let it put you off Japan, though. Fabulous country.

I am so sad about it but I just can't do it! It would be a really expensive exercise in massive stress.

OP posts:
youreactinglikeafunmum · 10/08/2025 09:55

I think that cyclists are the ones causing all of the stress and harm to everyone

I do my best to be cautious of them, looking in my left mirror constantly, constantly on edge

Pedestrians are an after thought tbh, which is dangerous 😳

Driving is just stressful in london

MrsSkylerWhite · 10/08/2025 09:52

Don’t let it put you off Japan, though. Fabulous country.

MrsSkylerWhite · 10/08/2025 09:51

Was really angry to see that on the shared cycle/pedestrian footpath, defined half for each, leading to a nearby coastal town where the annual air show was taking place, hundreds of drivers had parked entirely over the pedestrian section. Completely off the road. Forced equally hundreds of pedestrians, lots of families with kids and people with dogs, cyclists, runners, people using mobility scooters to share the cycle path. Accident asking to happen.

Why the hell the council didn’t slap a parking fine on every one of the vehicles (some were bloody camper vans that also took up part of the cycle lane!), god knows. Selfish arseholes.

Why the pedestrian path is on the outside of the road, right next to the traffic in the first place is another question. Surely pedestrians ought to be on the inside lane with cyclists next to the road?

There, feel a bit better now. 😁

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