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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to expect car drivers to stop at a pedestrian crossing

36 replies

Celerydion · 21/06/2011 14:04

Right, had taken ds for his vaccinations at the health centre and we came out and were waiting to cross the road at the pedestrian crossing (myself walking with ds and dd in double pushchair). We stopped and waited as there was a car approaching from the right - who then kindly stopped to allow us to cross. We were half way across when some twerp coming from the left almost mowed us down! . Have to confess i shouted after them like a complete loon . I am still rather cross now, although i know that i have to just put it down to experience.

How the hell did they not see us in the middle of the road with a double pushchair? I wouldn't have minded so much if they had stopped and apologised - perhaps they are having a stressful day after being at the doctors, who knows...

OP posts:

worldgonecrazy · 21/06/2011 14:09

YANBU to expect cars to stop. Experience has shown that it is always best to expect car drivers to be unreasonable. I live in a large city and quite a few drivers don't speak English and can't read road signs, or come from countries where pedestrian crossings are a novelty, so I have learned to wait at the edge of the road until traffic has stopped or the road is clear. A colleague was hit whilst crossing a zebra crossing on the way home from work so I think we're all a bit more careful these days.

xstitch · 21/06/2011 14:10

YANBU.

If you got his number I would report him to the police.

MummyTigger · 21/06/2011 14:18

YADDDDDDDDDDDDNBU! I get this every day, and especially in Tesco Car Park - it's all the bleedin' time!

Oh, I'm terribly sorry that as a 36-week-pregnant woman I can't waddle at the appropriate speed for you. I'm so sorry that I had to inconvenience you for 30 seconds while I'm trying to cross the road in the one place where I have right of way. I feel deeply guilty about it, and hope you will forgive me for making you a fraction late to whatever horrendously important appointment that you absolutely must keep, and if you want to send me the bill for the mounds of blatantly defrosted food that wasn't able to get to your freezer in time, then I'll be more than happy to reimburse you. You absolute cunt.

Sorry, but this is one of the few things that really really get my goat, and I will happily make a stand in the middle of the road and argue the absolute toss to people trying to push their way through or not using their indicators.

Original poster

Celerydion · 21/06/2011 14:29

Thanks for the replies. MummyTigger - are you me?! well, a few months back before ds was born am pleased to report that in our Tesco car park today, after the health centre incident we did encounter some very polite drivers so that was a bonus.

worldgonecrazy (love the name - very apt) i hope that your colleague has recovered now

xstitch sadly i was too enraged to do anything sensible like get the registration number - good idea for if a similar incident happened.

OP posts:

LadyClariceCannockMonty · 21/06/2011 14:41

NO, YANBU. This is my pet hate (well, all the things badly behaved drivers do are my pet hate).

I shout after them all the time, and gesticulate rudely. I have been in more than one slanging match. Unfortunately I'm the last person on earth not to have a phone that takes photos, so I never get people's registration numbers. If I did, what do I do with them and what happens then? (genuine question; i've no idea).

Scholes34 · 21/06/2011 14:56

This happened to me once on a pelican crossing when I was crossing on my bicycle (from cycle lane to cycle lane, I point out) and DS2. Half way across a car came to an abrupt halt after almost hitting DS2. Completely out of character for me, I leant my bike against the car to stop it driving off and actually opened the car door to give the driver a mouthful. Fortunately, it was a rather meek looking older chap, rather than some horrid thug. He got my message, anyway. YADNBU.

ipswichwitch · 21/06/2011 15:39

YANBU. the hospital i work in has a ped crossing. nobody ever stops at it to let you cross from car park to hospital. it's the same every bloody day, and the worst offenders are the staff who know it's there!!!!! gets my goat every time

JoySzasz · 21/06/2011 15:43

Who are these drivers that can not read road signs? [mad]

They should not behind a wheel in the UK till they can.

My DH will have to get a UK license after driving since 1977 in the US.

Why on earth should other nations get away with just 'swapping a license' or worse still, driving without one?

YANBU .

xstitch · 21/06/2011 15:45

I think the majority of offenders can read the road signs the just don't bother with them or don't think they apply to them because they are to important etc.

ElizabethDarcy · 21/06/2011 15:56

I am recovering from a leg injury from this very thing :(

Crossing the road at the pedestrian crossing with a friend... thank god we thought to look to the right as we saw a car that wasn't slowing down.. we JUMPED for the sidewalk. Friend landed okay, me, on the floor, in agony. Broke my leg. A&E. This happened 6 months ago and has cost me, as a self employed person, a couple of thousand pounds in lost wages due to time off work and rehab/physio costs.

And the IDIOT just drove on by

JoySzasz · 21/06/2011 15:58

Elizabeth so sorry.

What a horrible shock for you.

Riveninside · 21/06/2011 15:59

Yadnbu. Happens daily here

LRDTheFeministNutcase · 21/06/2011 16:02

YANBU!

As to drivers who 'can't read road signs' - sorry, I think it is far more likely they can, they've passed their tests, but they're wankers who don't care. I know plenty of idiots who are quite capable of driving nicely enough to pass a test and then forget it all within minutes of getting their full license.

iskra · 21/06/2011 16:02

Really winds me up. It's the blind selfishness of it too. YOU are so important & in such a rush you can't slow down for 30 seconds to let the pregnant woman & child across the road.

ShoutyHamster · 21/06/2011 16:05

This happened to me and yes I did get the number and report it.

Surprise surprise, they couldn't trace that vehicle as it was still registered to the previous owner. So they couldn't do anything, yeah sorry about that...

So through that little loophole, the scumbag who almost knocked me down basically gets to be above the law, because he knows full well that anyone taking his number and a description has f-all chance of seeing him busted . So let's face it, he's almost certainly driving without tax or insurance, oh and possibly doesn't even have a licence, and no wonder he's happy to drive through pedestrian crossings - no comeback, you see?

Before anyone points out that this isn't exactly the fault of the police - I know, the whole incident leaves a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth though as when I reported it, the person on the other end of the phone (policewoman? not sure) got the details of the incident, then:

'Yeahthanksforreportingbyeee'

Me: 'Hang on hang on don't you need MY details?'

Her: 'What for?'

Me: 'Well if you trace this guy to let me know that you have done, and to see if I want to take it further and how! - you don't even have my telephone number?!'

Her: 'Oh yes that's fine we can do that'

I give details. Surprise surprise, am contacted the next day with the above, and the news that they've 'closed' the incident. Super smashing lovely great :)

Taghain · 21/06/2011 16:12

Some years ago I was pushing DS across a pelican crossing (red light) in a pushchair, when a car coming from the left just missed him as we got across the centre line. I shouted after him & saw the driver swerve. He didn't stop at all.

I gave the cops his number, and they later told me that the guy said he was having a heart attack at the time so couldn't control the car!
But they didn't check the truth of his story with either his doctor or the hospital.

schroeder · 21/06/2011 16:12

I really hate this too and it's evil twin-drivers waving me to cross when it's their right of way. Keep to the rules people, the rules control the fun

ElizabethDarcy · 21/06/2011 16:12

Thank you JoySzasz... it has been a horrid time, and so avoidable.

I honestly do not know how some drivers get away with their horrific driving (lack of) skill.

GrimmaTheNome · 21/06/2011 16:16

YANBU to expect it ... My dad used to be on the local road safety committee. We lived in a seaside town which had a large rehab place on the seafront. There was a proposal to put a zebra crossing there. The rehab centre opposed this because so many of the patients had received their injuries on crossings.

I was nearly mown down by a large lorry on a pelican crossing recently. It wasn't in view when I started to cross; came round corner accelerating all the way. The driver of the lorry on the other side of the road, waiting at the crossing properly, and I frozen in front of him exchanged horrified looks as it barrelled along in front of me. Too quick to get his number.

And then there was the time someone nearly reversed over small DD and myself on a zebra in a carpark. I smacked the car and shouted at the driver, who simply hadn't looked.

OTOH, if you were in Italy you would BU. I asked someone why they bothered painting zebras on the roads, which only visiting Germans stopped at - the nonchalant answer was 'because we're artistic'. DH was baffled how the hell to cross a road, fortunately I have long blonde hair which enables one to confidently step into the road with a swish and the cars stopped (he was most impressed. Not sure it'd work now )

JarethTheGoblinKing · 21/06/2011 16:20

YADNBU BUT I was taught as a child that at pedestrian crossings that you just wait until both cars had stopped until you start to cross. Red lights are one things but people are crap, bad drivers are everywhere.

I'm not proud of it, but I have ONCE gone over a zebra crossing without realising someone was waiting to cross, just momentarily distracted and in a strange area. No excuse, but just saying, it does happen sometimes.

Having said that today, while crossing the road, some git sped up towards me and 3yo DS while we were on the zebra crossing. He'd definitely seen us but was just being a turd.

like I said YADNBU

LadyClariceCannockMonty · 21/06/2011 16:28

schroeder, you've reminded me of that irritating phenomenon ? drivers who stop and then magnanimously wave pedestrians across PEDESTRIAN crossings as if they're doing it out of sheer largesse. And pedestrians who make it worse by waving and ducking their heads in abject gratitude.

It's pedestrians' right of way, you patronising feckers!

JoySzasz · 21/06/2011 16:32

lady perfect

BionicEmu · 21/06/2011 16:33

YANBU if it was a "proper" pedestrian crossing. I was taught it has to have flashing lights to be an actual pedestrian right-of-way, if it's just lines on the road that just shows pedestrians where to cross, but they should still wait for cars. Or am I wrong?? Willing to concede if I am :)

GrimmaTheNome · 21/06/2011 16:34

Jareth, I think in the OPs case she did wait for the only approaching car - the knob appeared after she'd started crossing.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 21/06/2011 17:18

Fair enough, tbh I'm not just talking about the though, people do start to cross before cars have stopped. Not saying it's the pedestrians responsibility to do this obviously, but just that it's safer to wait.

It always surprises me when I see people just wander straight out onto a zebra crossing without even glancing at the coming traffic (again, not saying this is what the OP did, just talking generally)

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