to actually start to hate car drivers? And yes, I mean ALL of them!

[Rhubarb0oooo]

I probably am being unreasonable as I'm sure many of you will point out but I used to think that the majority of car drivers were courteous and respectful, until I became a proper pedestrian.

I walk a mile to school with ds, then a mile back and again in the afternoon to pick him up. During this walk we have to walk down an A road, cross an entrance to a garden centre, cross a bypass and walk down a B road into the village centre.

Cars and lorries will often come speeding up the A road doing much more than the 40 mph limit and often spraying us both with water (the lorries) as they hurtle past.

Cars entering the garden centre think that it is their right of way and will often drive onto the pavement forcing ds and I to stop or back up and some have even swerved round us as we've been crossing ON OUR PAVEMENT.

Then we get to the bypass which has a pedestrian crossing. Drivers might be in a hurry to get to work but that is no excuse to run the red light whilst people are crossing. Or toot your horn (even though the light is red) or rev your engine. And the number of people on their phones, not looking at the lights, is scary.

Now for the B road into the village where the road is narrow and the pavement only allows for one single line pedestrians. It's a 30mph zone but I have been forced to throw ds onto the steep embankment as cars come flying down, clipping the kerb. I've also had cars hit his lunch bag that is over my shoulder (which gives you an idea of how close they drive to the pavement) and had horns blaring at us for daring to be on the pavement and in their way.

I'd like to think that these are isolated incidents, but this happens to us day after day. I've told the council who are not interested and the police say it is my word against the drivers (when I tried to report a van nearly ploughing into ds and I).

So what makes these reasonable people turn into arrogant bastards when they get behind a wheel and see a mother walking her child to school?

Yes because cyclists make the roads SO SAFE for motorists don't they?

I don't understand the whole jokey tone, at all. Every day hundreds of people are killed or seriously (life changingly) injured on london's roads alone. Why do some drivers find this topic so funny? People being killed and injured in large numbers is simply not funny.

I read something in the paper about an incident where say a driver has knocked down and killed someone because they drove through a red light. Happens quite a lot. From here I know the reaction of some people will be "HA" and comments about target practice and so on. I just don't get the joke, I really dont' understand.

I should have bolded the last line of that text too, evidently.

Don't drive faster than you can see to stop in. Sure, pedestrians on unlit roads should take precautions, but you can't expect a deer to.

Jack you seriously believe that motorists are more at risk from cyclists than vice versa?

Riiiight...

Sorry hundreds is an exaggeration there. But it is plenty. If anyone is interested I can dig up the stats.

I didn't say more at risk. I said they don't make the roads risk free or safe.

Between not stopping at lights, mounting the pavement, not indicating and fucking about on roundabouts I'm suprised there's any cyclists left.

"Between not stopping at lights, mounting the pavement, not indicating and fucking about on roundabouts"

Erm, like car drivers never do all that stuff

I know which I'd rather be hit by.

Yes I often mount the pavement in my car.

^
It happens so often that drivers hit other people on foot, bicycles or motorbikes and don't stop or even bother calling an ambulance.^

The same happens when these idiots hit other cars to (I still carry the neck injury as evidence). Just shows a complete disrespect for other road users and anyone who hits and runs be it a pedestrian or car should automatically lose their licence.

Sardine Queen, keep going, you are right,right,right.
HittheRoadJack is just showing him/herself to be a truly awful aggressive driver. How they can say "I'm a good driver, I've got no licence points" and then talk like this is incredible

Yes, and?

Sorry that was to jack.

Hey thanks botti!

Sympathies for your walk and for the inconsiderate arrogant gits you encounter.

I drive, and see these things day after day after day, and fume:
Drivers queuing over pedestrian lights, so that when the Green man is lit, people can't get between cars with their buggies etc
Drivers who believe the flashing amber on a pelican gives them the right to move forwards pushing between people still crossing
Drivers who speed through huge puddles soaking pedestrians (this is against the highway code)
Drivers taking sneaky L turns where there is a 'no left turn' sign - and drive straight through a pedestrian crossing showing a green man
Drivers who flash and hoot at a person in front who is observing the right of way of cyclists in the bus and cycle lane (a london thing) and waiting until there is no danger of running down the cyclist in the bus and cycle lane before turning left into a driveway or car park.
And - the zig zags outside school, but that topic has had many threads to itself.

Of course not all drivers do these things, but driving does bring out the arrogance in some peopple, and being sealed in their box makes them feel impervious. Or maybe driving just lets us know how many ignorant, rude, careless people there are.

I'm astonished that people think that in the UK a driver is automatically seen to be at fault. It's the complete opposite in a lot of stories I've read. If you want to kill someone and get away with it, do it with a car seems to be good advice.

A truck driver with defective eyesight kills a cyclist and gets 3 points and a 200 pound fine. 200 hours community service for admitting to death by dangerous driving, driving at 60mph in a 40mph zone on the wrong side of the road and killing a cyclist - 240 hours Community Service, 12 month driving disqualification etc.

It's not drivers it's society, well some people in all areas of the world. Whether on foot, in a car, on bicycles, in a queue, too many people are just downright horrible.

something I find tres amusing is when drivers come on here and get all huffy and upset when they complain about cyclists riding through red lights. something I never do as I am uber polite. But I think "Sooo how does that disadvantage you exactly? How does that impede your everso important journey? Where is the risk to you? "

I know/have known lots and lots of very mild-mannered folks, but when they see cyclists as 'competitors' they get all entitled and angry. The fact is that there is plenty of room and time for all of us. It's just that drivers have a (sometimes chilling) tendency to see roads as their perogative and fail to see anyone elses 'right' to use it as a 'favour' to them which can be withdrawn instantly wit ha potential loss of life. I cycle twice and day and have riden, and driven, for decades and drivers never fail to amuse me and scare me.

YYY to all of those blu

What kind of attitude is that? You sound angry and impatient. If that is translated into your driving it is only a matter of time before some poor pedestrians/s loses an "argument" with your vehicle

Pragmatism? Being right and dead is a sub optimal strategy.

I walk. I drive. I cycle. There are always fuckwits.

South Africa has to be the worst place for car accidents though. Pedestrians walk on the motorways, the road workers are not even given proper gear to keep them safe and they just wave flags to slow you down and this is in the dark!
People use the 'safe Zone' to let people overtake, but sometimes there are pedestrians there in the dark with no lights!
No-one seems to know how to drive, especially if you happen to get lost going through the shanty towns, not to mention the children, goats and chickens on the road (dual carriageway)
So after all that, UK roads seem MUCH safer !

I also hate pedestrians who see my reverse lights and decide to dance behind my car.

OMG - how many times has this happened to me in a busy carpark?? I've lost count. FGS, you see a car backing out, just bloody stop. I do it when I'm walking why can't other people? Yes, I do see that as a death wish.

I've just spent the last 3 hours out driving, and again the number of bikes without lights was astonishing.

The icing on the cake was the bloody cow pedestrian who decided to cross AS SOON AS THE LIGHTS TURNED GREEN ON THE CROSS ROAD. She didn't even look to her right, she just kept looking left and crossed SLOWLY whilst I was trying to move out to turn right. Why can't pedestrians WAIT until they see the green man? It's like a competition to cross the road. I NEVER cross the road without the green man flashing. There are plenty of measures out there to keep pedestrians safe. Drivers are expected to abide the lights, why can't pedestrians?

OP. I would buy yourself and DS some wellies and waterproofs and walk in the fields. Seriously, if your walk is that dangerous, why take the risk?

I know and you know that some (a lot) of drivers should take more care. But they often don't and it only takes one to be even more idiotic than the others you describe, and one of you could actually get hit.

YANBU! As a lifelong pedestrian and non-driver, I know exactly where you're coming from. When my DS was younger and we were out and about, an encounter with a wanker of a driver was enough to ruin my whole day (although in fairness I gave as good as I got. Once I even raised my hand across my throat in a throat-slitting gesture to a driver who dared to drive on to the pedestrian crossing while I was already walking across, pushing my DS in his buggy).
Most drivers as individuals are nice enough, but as a group of people, I have often felt I HATE them.
FWIW, it has got easier. Now my DS is older (9) and we live in a different part of the country (North East instead of the West Country), I don't feel the same levels of anger and hatred; I can go a whole week at times without even tutting at stupid driving!
Oh and I very rarely thank any drivers for stopping at crossings too, almost as matter of pride. MY DH used to marvel at me, staring out lorry drivers to stop completely, before I would saunter out and cross and refuse to acknowledge their 'sacrifice'.
OP, if I were you, I would seriously consider altering my route or investigating public transport, as the levels of stress, anxiety, anger and fear you have to endure on a twice-daily basis can't be good for you or your child. Good luck!

MrBlooms part of driving test is that if you are reversing and someone walks near you, you stop. You would fail your test for not doing so.

Yes, it is sensible for people not to walk behind you when you are reversing but as the driver, its your responsibility to stop.

So the pedestrian doesn't have to take any responsibility for being so stupid as to walk behind a car which is moving? Is that not half of the issues on threads like this that pedestrians seem to not be expected to take any responsibility for there own safety instead blaming it on drivers?

If someone walks behind a clearly moving vehicle any resulting accident is the fault of that pedestrian not the driver.