to expect car drivers to stop at a pedestrian crossing

[Celerydion]

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...

www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070108

I'm explaining myself badly, ^^ makes it more clear.

You're absolutely right about that, of course.

Then there's the knobs who reckon they don't have to stop unless you've got a foot on the crossing. A pram doesn't cut it .

From the link:
?always check that the traffic has stopped before you start to cross or push a pram onto a crossing

Of course...but...
Remember that traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing

Something wrong with the logic there!

tis a bit backwards isn't it

Mind you, there are some people who seem to think that you can just step out into the road whenever you feel like it, crossing or not. Yes yes, the pedestrian does technically have right of way as soon as they start to cross the road, but stepping out into the path of an oncoming vehicle on the corner of a junction when the driver couldn't see you until the last second and then sticking your finger up at them as they screech to a halt is NOT a good idea.

(OP, this is not aimed at you, it's aimed at the wanker crossing the road infront of me earlier with headphones on, staring at his poxing iphone and totally oblivious to traffic. Git)

You could have been me.

I have just had a very similar experience. Admittedly the weather here isn't very good and there are a lot of roadworks so traffic is diverted but some numpty failed to stop when I was half way across the zebra and rather irritatingly soaked me.

Sadly for him. He had to stop further down the road in a large queue of traffic so I had a 'word'. The poor boy (because that is all he was) didn't get a word in edgeways. I suspect he will be more careful the next time Mummy/ Daddy lend him their really rather shiny BMW.

Glad to know it's not just me that gets incredibly irate and shouts at bad drivers, although it's a shame that we have to! ElizabethDarcy sorry to hear about your injury hope you are on the mend now.
It was a zebra crossing, although no flashing lights - we were given a road safety booklet for children at toddler group today and it says that cars must stop at a zebra crossing (if someone's waiting to cross) otherwise it's illegal?

Celerydion thank you... I am mending. Thank you :)

Yes... it is my understanding (as a CM who has done a Road Safety course), that a driver must stop at a zebra crossing. I always wait to see if the driver does this first though, prior to stepping off the curb.

As has been my experience... even when already walking across the road (green light for me, red for the driver...), drivers might not stop.. so, even if you are already walking across the road, always keep a look out on approaching cars.

Reading this thread reminded me of zebra crossings/pedestrian lights in Rome. Anyone not on a crossing is considered fair game, regardless of whether the lights are red or green, so the cars creep forward trying to push the pedestrians of the striped markings. We always used to look for local people crossing at the same time (a) because they would get hit first and (b) because we figured they would have more experience of crossing Roman roads safely.

I live close to a big city and DH is from another. Believe me there are plenty of people on the roads who haven't passed a test whether from overseas or not. My driving instructor is always coming across people who have a few lessons and are merrily driving around unaccompanied on just a provisional license. She is quite busy reporting them

As a learner and having spent forty years as a pedestrian I have a terrible blind spot for pedestrians in the road I think, because I assume that I'm walking along next to them. It's usually when they are walking in the road back to oncoming traffic when there are perfectly good footpaths though, I'm okay on crossings because they are quite hard to miss.

Can't stand drivers who wave people on impatiently on crossings where there are two lanes though. I've seen them doing it to DD too and it is so dangerous because quite often there is another car coming up in the far lane which theirs is obscuring and they never check.

Same happened to me a couple of weeks ago! I stopped at a crossing with DS1, DS2 and DD in pushchair a car coming from the right stopped, we started to cross when a 4x4 came from the other side, DS2 had to jump back to avoid being hit, the woman driver stopped, wound down her window and had a go at me for letting DS2 "run across the road without looking as she would never let her children do that"!!!!! We had checked before crossing and he was only just ahead of me. AND IT'S A CROSSING!!!!!!! I think she was attacking me because she realised how close she had come to hitting DS2. DS2 was very upset, partly because of what had happened and partly because his mother was screaming like a wild thing in the middle of the road!!!!

I wish I knew what the taxi driver was thinking this morning-

He had obviously misjudged the zebra crossing and failed to stop to allow the people to cross, so instead of stopping behind the crossing, he stopped on it. Completely blocking it. And then waited for us all to file through behind his cab and get to the other side before driving off down the empty road in front of him.