Pedestrians

[MardyBra]

Please do not "nip in front" of my car as I am pulling out of a junction.

Oh, and a quick cheeky cross of the road just as the lights are changing and I've been waiting for ages isn't great either.

I don't want to kill you.

I know I'll be flamed as an imperialist gas-guzzling car driver even though my business couldn't function with a car but some of you have been getting on my tits this week.

Gerbil Pedestrians have got to take some responsibility for their own safety. I've had so many step out in front of me without warning (mostly kids around here) and while I'll do everything in my power to reduce the risk to them I can only stop my car so fast.

yesterday driving home from Cornwall on the A38 expressway I saw two young boys in school uniform stood on the central reservation having run across one side and watched them through my mirror behind me run across the second carriageway WTF could not believe my eyes silly little sods bet the parents / carers would have had a fit if they knew.

Dear drivers. Please note that when you want to access a car park or exit or enter your drive you may have to cross the pavement. A dropped kerb doesn't make that part of the pavement road. Therefore there may be pedestrians on it not really expecting a car.

Hth.

Sorry ivy I might have been a bit touchy there. Ignore.

Cyclists - I'm in a minority of 1 as I really don't mind you on the pavement if you cycle sensibly. Just please use your bell, don't go fast and don't have your headphones in.

Make that two! There are places where it makes much more sense for cyclists to share the pavement than the road, and the vast majority do it totally sensibly and considerably hereabouts.

Car drivers - if you come round a corner towards a junction which I and my dog have started crossing before you were within sight or sound, don't expect us to break into a run to get across so you don't have to stop.

Hear hear, Meglet why do runners run on roads when there are pavements?

Make that a minority of 2, around here there are some places that are so dangerous for cyclists, I don't blame them for using the pavement, so long as they use their bell and give priority to pedestrians.

Dear motorists,

You are meant to stop behind the line at a pelican crossing, not on the crossing. It doesn't matter if it is a yellow box junction you, should wait for space on the other side before moving forward. When I then point this out to you because I have no means of crossing safely with my buggy, a simple sorry followed by you reversing so that I can cross would be more appropriate than sarcastic remarks.

Oh and it is an offence to aggressively rev your engine at a heavily pregnant lady who could not finish crossing before the light went green, pedestrians have right of way. Same goes for elderly people and people with small children.

Parents the school keep clear and markings near crossings are there for a reason, they are not a space kept just for parents to pick up/drop off their children. If an ambulance or fire engine needs to get through, they can't if you park on the school keep clear. Equally other drivers need a good view of the crossing so they don't run children over.

Also parking on the double yellow line at the corners and junctions of roads makes it very difficult and unsafe to cross for people in wheelchairs, people with buggies and other pedestrians.

Incidentally I always thank drivers who stop at zebra crossings, because I want them to stop in future, it is rare these days. Black cab drivers are the worst offenders, they never stop.

Dont park across drop kerbs or I will bump a heavy wheelchair up and over your car. Just sayin'...

Somebody further down posted the actual bit from the Highway Code

you MUST give way when a pedestrian has moved onto a crossing.

As a driver you do not have to stop until the pedestrian has stepped onto the road. That being the case I smile and mouth "thanks" to the drivers who stop to let me cross. It costs nothing, and I hope that by doing so, they will be more inclined to stop (for someone else) on the next crossing.

When I drive I look around as I approach to see if anyone is likely to be crossing and act accordingly.

The crossing thing is odd. Why would I wave at a driver on a crossing? Drivers don't wave and thank me if traffic lights are on green and they are driving by while I politely wait my turn rather than walking in front of their car.

Thanking a car driver for waiting their turn at a crossing is equivalent to queuing in a shop and turning to thank the people behind you in the queue for not violently throwing you aside so they can be served first.

I don't like it when drivers flash their lights to say 'thank you' - weirdly enough, I prefer not being dazzled. I know they mean well but it often not a great idea.

Pedestrians should NEVER walk behind a reversing vehicle.
Is there a clause which states that vehicles shouldn't start to reverse if there's someone behind them.... a lot don't look properly.

"Dear cyclists,

When going round a corner on a steep hill, could you please refrain from riding two or even three abreast as I can't actually see that you are there until I am right behind you.

Cheers now."

Mmm, if this causes you a problem then you're going to fast for the road. They're probably 2 abreast to stop people overtaking them on a corner. I often ride in the middle of the carriageway in such situations which is the same thing really. And on Sky Rides the qualified ride leaders tell you to ride 2 abreast the whole time.

yes... if cyclists (who are moving in the same direction as you) cause you a problem, then what's going to happen if there's a stationary obstruction in the road? Or a sheep ambling towards you?

Everlong, because nobody has to let you out at a junction, they are doing you a favour. When a pedestrian is at a crossing, they can legally step out on that crossing at any moment as one foot on the road gives them right of way, so you should have slowed down to almost stopping in case they do. If you don't do that, it's like pulling out at a junction without slowing down as you approach it, on the expectation that cars already on the road won't continue to drive along the section of road you want to join. It is the pedestrian's right of way to step out on to the road. You are not doing them a favour anymore than a pedestrian not walking out when the red man is on is doing you a favour.

Dear drivers. When you see a lollipop lady/man stepping out into the road in front of you at a big enough distance away for you to slow down and stop please do so. Do not carry on, missing the lollipop lady/man by inches and us (me, ds &dd) by not much more, whilst chatting away to your friend.

Dear drivers. Indicators are not optional extras but actually come as standard on your cars. Please find out their location and use them.

The first one happened when ds was 4, he's now 20. For some things I have a looooooooooong memory.

Pedestrians - stay out of the bike lanes. The green paint doesn't make it short grass to wander in to.

Drivers - stay out of the green box Advanced Stop Line at traffic lights. It's a h & s measure for non-mechanical road users. We can tell the difference between a hybrid bike and a hybrid car. So can the police. It's £60 and 3 pts worth of difference. (and please don't talk about 'road tax' - it will make you look really silly and ill-informed.)

If there was a sheep ambling around a steep hill corner, when to be fair I'm not the fastest driver anyway, and a car was coming the opposite way, I'd just have to deal with it I guess. But it would scare me nontheless. I would never overtake round a corner, I rarely overtake as it is. Overtaking cyclists makes me nervous, especially when other drivers get impatient behind me. I'm a relatively new driver. But it's news to me that cyclists are allowed to do this; everyone I have asked has said that they are not supposed to ride two abreast. Genuinely apologise if this is the case. Maybe it's just that I need more confidence in driving.

yes, Bad it's often odd to hear drivers complaining about how potentially dangerous it is to over take cyclists. It's pretty simple though. You do it when it's safe to, just as when drivers over take buses, trucks other cars etc. So do please try to ignore the impatient drivers behind you. They are being bad drivers.

Malaia - what is wrong with a quick wave or smile at the driver who stops at a pedestrian crossing? It takes little or no time or effort, and (apologies for the kitsch) spreads a little sunshine.

As I said earlier on, the person who serves me at the till in Tesco has to serve me because it is their job - I always thank them anyway. I could have the attitude that I don't have to thank them because they are paid to do that job, but I consider it to be the right thing to do, and it makes the interaction a pleasant one.

In the same way, thanking the motorist who stops at a pedestrian crossing isn't obligatory at all, but it makes a neutral interaction into a pleasant, positive one, IMO - and the more of that there is in the world, the better, I think.

Extra thanks, extra pleasantness - these are never going to be negative things, so why argue against something that has no downside (that I can see) and that can make the world a tiny bit better?

Do you really only thank people who didn't have to do whatever it was they did for you? I'd feel sad, if that was the way I lived.

Bad - yes, you need the confidence to ignore impatient idiots behind you.

Same goes even more if you've got to overtake horses! Riders will often give a signal when its clear - they can see better from up there.

If I'm behind cyclists/horses somewhere where it isn't safe to overtake I tend to edge closer to the middle of the road to
a) indicate to the impatient twats behind me that I will overtake when possible
b) stop the impatient twats from attempting to overtake me and the cyclists/horses