to think that people should stop at crossings

[emms1981]

There is a crossing near my sons school and I stand there waiting to cross but many times people just speed right through :( its not right next to the school so not a 20mph zone but AIBU to expect people to stop?
Just now 4 cars drove through while I was stood waiting and the last one stuck his hand up at me cheeky twat, Im learning to drive at the mo and the way I understood it was you slow down when near one if there are people about.

yanbu drivers should stop if anyone is waiting to cross.

It's exactly the same at the crossings at one of the school here. I thought it was law or something to stop at a zebra crossing?

if its a zebra they should stop

if its a push button with no stripes then no, depends on the crossing.

I assume you mean a zebra crossing? Yes, drivers are supposed to stop if anyone is waiting to cross on one.

I tend to start walking out and glare at them, but not if they are hurtling towards me, on the same side of the road!

What kind of crossing?

Did you step forward to be clearly seen and to 'claim' it?

Sometime people forget that you are supposed to do that and stay back off the kerb, for safety. Then a driver can't always see you are there or know that you are intending to cross and not just waiting for someone / something.

Not saying that is what happened, but you never know!

yanbu, I have just witnessed about 4 or 5 cars go through a zebra crossing with school kids waiting to cross.

DD 12 frequently tells me that people dont stop for her.

What sortof crossing OP.
Some you don't have to stop unless pedestrians have already stepped out.
I know where you are coming from though, its ironic how dangerous the roads are near a school, considering thereare so many vulnerable dc about.
If it is particularly dangerous speak to the traffic liason officer for your school, its their job to assist schools in making roads safe.

A woman went straight through the lollipop man a while ago, barely missing the dc, her excuse as several parents dragged her out of the car was I need to get to work.
So be warned, getting to work is not an excuse to make other peoples dc unsafe, I think she'll think again and the memory of the bruises should be sufficient.

www.gov.uk/rules-pedestrians-1-to-35/crossings-18-to-30

In case you think I made that up, here is the quote:

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

YANBU

Near my daughters' school when they were at primary, the council installed "courtesy crossings" as they said that zebra crossings were statistically more dangerous than not having one. I don't think the cars have a clue that they are passing a courtesy crossing (raised piece of road to join both sides of pavement). As an adult I can eyeball drivers as I begin to step into the road at which point some stop. I am not sure how an 8,9 or 10 year old would manage that. Personally, I think the safety thing is daft. Presumably there are more accidents on zebras then where there are no zebras BECAUSE that is where people cross. Choosing not to provide a crossing at all - or only a "courtesy crossing" has to be more dangerous, doesn't it?

incidentally, and perhaps oddly, I find that the people least likely to stop at a crossing are mothers with DC in the back. I cannot work out whether this is because they are distracted, tired or entitled. White van men often stop.

The crossing near the primary school near me (and on footpath to local train station) has the same idiot drivers. People just don't bother checking and walking out into the road would be to take your life into your hands! All good when the lollipo

I used to live in France and you definitely had to be on the crossing before people would stop - generally with a scowl. Le sigh.

its a zebra,, what annoys me most is the ones who actually speed up as they get near.

Nomama I appreciate what you are saying but the advice contradicts itself! "Give traffic plenty of time to see you and to stop before you start to cross. Wait until the traffic has stopped. Remember that the traffic doesn't need to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing"
So wait for the traffic to stop but it doesn't stop until you start actually crossing?

I used to love zebra crossings as a kid. When I was about 6 or 7 we lived in a major city and I walked the mile and a half to school alone. There were 2 zebra crossings, one with and one without a lollipop lady.

I used the one without. I remember being taught how to use the different crossing, Belisha'd, non Belisha'd, Pelican, Toucan (only they were much later, weren't they? With bikes).

I remember it was the first time I had felt able to control my world, just by stepping forward slightly and looking to my right - I could stop traffic. Ooooh the power

Then again, there weren't so many cars, they didn't travel as fast and times were very different then (late 60s).

profplump I've never even heard of "courtesy crossings" and would have no idea that a raised area like that was intended to be a crossing. I would have assumed it was a wide sort of speed bump. And I read all through the Highway Code a few years ago when DS was learning to drive and got a new copy!

It sounds like a way to save money, instead of installing a pelican crossing if the road needs one.

Sorry Wabitty, that is why it seems dangerous to you. It is the 'start to cross' bit that I was taught, all those years ago.

It just means you step forward to the kerb and look right indicating that you are about to start to cross.

It is a pity this is not still taught, that the Tufty Club, Green Cross Man etc aren't still in existence. We'd all know it as pedestrians and take that forward as drivers, just like us fogeys do (sort of). I have no idea how you are supposed to learn these days.

Bring back Joe and Petunia, I say.

What Nomama says. Cars only need to stop at Zebra if someone is on it.
I usually stop if I can see someone waiting but have been caught out at the ones near a local school by people standing next to it to have a chat.

You have to put a foot on it. Not a great thing for kids to have to do. Also hard if you're pushing a pram - you have to pull it rather than it going into the road ahead of you.

I used to pass a very posh (very well known) school on my way to work.

When I cycled I got run over by yummy mummies pulling into the kerb to let their darlings alight. They'd screech Eff Orff, in very cut glass accents if I dared to speak as I picked myself up or demanded payment for squashed wheels, etc.

When I drove I was forever stopping for other yummies, probably nannies/au pairs, to cross. They never did, they were just chatting. They had a lovely range is gesticulations and could say Eff Orff very, very loudly without seeming to shout.

One day I tootled passed very slowly and got a riding crop slashed across the roof of my car. One of them had decided to cross from within the chattering pack... I couldn't have seen her, I was travelling at a crawl and she probably didn't actually look first.

Anyway, I wrote to the headmistress and local newspaper and told my sorry tale..... I got no response from either! I always wondered why the headmistress didn't reply - if only to say Eff Orff. I know why the paper didn't - too much kowtowing!