...to expect not to be rushed across a road?

[20wkbaby]

Several times recently I have been waiting to cross a road near my home. It is a junction where you have to watch out for traffic from four different directions, obviously it takes fractionally longer to cross when I am with my DCs - start to push buggy making sure I am holding on to scooter and DDs hand - but usually after a short while there is a suitable gap in the traffic and then usually traffic who can see us well stop and let us across.

Over the last few weeks on a number of occasions cars have beeped their horns at me to try and get me to cross. Presumably (and giving them the benefit of the doubt) they think they are helping by letting me know that they will wait, but I am much better placed than they are to see traffic about to turn into the road from the other direction and I think they are being quite rude. I'm not stopping them from moving - on a couple of occasions the traffic wasn't moving anyway. Granted I take longer than they might to cross the road but really I am happy to take the extra time to be safe.

So AIBU to get annoyed at someone seemingly thinking I am incapable of crossing a road? and being beeped at as a pedestrian really gets my goat.

They're trying to help.

If you don't want to cross when they beep...smile and wave them on.

Job done.

But they aren't waiting a lot of the time . They have less information than me about what is safe so how is that helpful?

I'm confused now.

Do they not stop/slow down and beep you to let you know they think it's ok for you to cross?

Fair enough you're better placed to decide...so you just smile and wave them on.

Unless I've misunderstood, I don't see the problem?

I got beeped at while I was using a zebra crossing once. It wasn't someone I knew either, just some bloke in a hurry.
But OP at least these drivers are trying to help. Lots wouldn't bother.

No they are sometimes in the middle of a static queue of traffic beeping at me as if to say, 'What's the problem the traffic isn't moving?' despite the fact I can see traffic converging from all other directions.

Do they really expect me to say, 'oh thanks I hadn't noticed the traffic had stopped, so kind of you to point it out'.

I just can't imagine beeping someone for one thing, let along beeping them to go across a road when I had no idea whether they are likely to be knocked down by traffic I am not even in a position to see.

To be fair, I'm not sure they're going to be sitting in a queue of traffic, thinking this in and out.

To them, they're doing a friendly thing.

To you, it's unnecessary...hence the smile and wave them on.

I get you OP! I'm 6 months PG and have a toddler, who can walk slowly when she wants to. I'd much rather wait for a huge gap in the traffic than have someone beckon me across, thinking they're being helpful, and then either them getting impatient when I'm not quick enough or me feeling rushed and flustered because now they've done me a 'favour', I shouldn't delay them unduly.

I do think people are genuinely trying to help, it's just not helpful to me when I've got enough to cope with as it is!

I think you are right Wibbly - it's as much about me feeling rushed than their intent. I'm hoping you're both right about them trying to be helpful, would hate to think they were getting impatient with me.

I think beeping like writing in capitals comes across more aggressively me than might be intended.

I think you are not supposed to beep at people to cross the road. Its in the highway code somewhere IIRC.

I don't cross a zebra crossing until both sides of the traffic have stopped, because I have had cars zoom across event though I am on the crossing.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend who is blind, was waiting at the crossing with her guide dog. He won't take her across until traffic is stopped in both directions, but needless to say while he was waiting to step out onto the crossing, the car that had already stopped started beeping at her.

It's not helpful, its harrassment.

I agree! I'm a childminder, and I take several children to school, plus sometimes a double pushchair. Last week I had 8 children with me ranging from 1 year old to 10 years, and had three different people wave at me to cross the road. I try to just smile and say no, but people are so insistent that I cross in front of them, and like you say, they can't see if there's another car coming, or if something else is happening. I even had someone yell at me that they were 'only trying to be helpful'. I always say that every walk is a learning opportunity, and that I'm teaching my children the green cross code. Inside I'm raging at another idiot who just won't mind their own business, and assumes that because I've got a lot of children with me, I have difficulty crossing roads. I wouldn't have any difficulty if they just got out the way! It's not even a busy road! I always tell the children never to cross in front of a car.

Can you tell this pisses me off on a regular basis .