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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that adults don't need 'to wait for the green man'?

101 replies

MrsWooster · 22/03/2015 09:48

why, on a reasonably quiet road, would a grown person press the button on a pelican crossing and wait while NO TRAFFIC GOES BY until the green man flashes? what happeed to common sense, judging the traffic and being a fucking adult?!
usual caveats apply of SN or if you've got kids and are trying to train them not to spring into the road like gazelles.

OP posts:

CumberCookie · 22/03/2015 10:14

ermmm maybe because its the safest way of crossing?

Crossing are put up where they are needed. Sometimes where its a blackspot of pedestrian accidents. In some cases where the road isn't clear to get a good view of the traffic coming.

When I'm driving I find it enraging when pedestrians don't use or don't wait until it is safe to cross.

So yeah I always wait for the green man.

spoonjarjarspoonjar · 22/03/2015 10:14

I will nearly always wait unless I'm 100% nothing is coming. You just don't know what is around the corner, literally. A speeding, distracted driver might not see you but they might see the red light of the crossing and stop for you.

It's amazing how quickly a speeding car can reach you.

I was once crossing a road which didn't have a crossing, it was about 150 yards away from a corner. It was completely clear.

I was about half way across when one of those ambulance cars came speeding around, I made it onto the pavement but it only missed me by about half a meter.

It was a real near miss and I heard the driver put the siren on as he/she drove away. I'm not sure who was more scared me or her/him!

I know that was exceptional circumstances because the driver was speeding but it was incredibly how quickly the car was on me, it wasn't there and then it was right behind me. It was almost silent too and it's lucky I didn't have headphones on and had my wits about me.

YouTheCat · 22/03/2015 10:15

It depends on the road. If it's busy, I wait. If I know the traffic light sequence I might not bother with pressing the button and cross when I know it's safe. If it's a road I'm not sure of, I wait.

Mehitabel6 · 22/03/2015 10:16

I use my own judgement, but if there are children there I set a good example by waiting.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 22/03/2015 10:17

I wait because I do not want my actions to cause trauma for to someone else.

It's easy to misjudge speed at any age and I'm not especially keen on the thought of being run over

TheresACatInMeKitchen · 22/03/2015 10:18

I have seen many near misses when somebody decides to cross before the green man flashes and a car has suddenly appeared from no where. Both In this country and abroad.

If you are on your own at a crossing and you can see the road is clear there should be no need to press the button, nothing worse as a car driver sitting at a crossing when the button presser is long gone also encourages other people approaching to make a last minute mad dash when they see stationary traffic but the lights are changing back to green.

If you have pressed the button then better all round to follow through and use it correctly.

PelvicFloorClenchReminder · 22/03/2015 10:19

What the fuck has it got to do with you when I cross the road?

notsmartenough · 22/03/2015 10:26

If I'm on my own or with other adults I wait if it is a wide road but if it's just a few steps then I judge the traffic.
There is one crossing I use which is on a slight bend so if you are on one side of the road you can't see any traffic coming, so I take my cue from anyone crossing from the opposite side - if they saunter across I know it's safe to cross.
If any children are around I tend to wait though, regardless.
I hate it when I press the button and the waiting time is so long that it is safe to cross whilst the red man is showing, so that motorists end up stopping for nothing when the green man appears and I am already on the other side of the road!

nokidshere · 22/03/2015 10:28

Because there was nothing coming at all when I crossed the road near my home at 10 years old - the car that hit me at speed and almost killed me was nowhere to be seen until it was too late.

So now I like to cross safely using crossings when they are provided

OwlCapone · 22/03/2015 10:29

I've been hit by a car before. I tend not to take chances any more and couldn't give a shit if it annoys anyone else.

Bean89 · 22/03/2015 10:31

I do leave myself enough time to get to work, but not to wait at the lights every time I see a child. Given that my route to the train station is also the route to a local school and I'm making the journey at walking to school time I would potentially be wasting loads of time stood at traffic lights. Of course in an ideal world I would always wait and set a good example, but as it is I'm happy for parents to tell their kids I'm silly and should have waited if that's what they need to do.
If adults ensured they were always setting a good example for any potential children they might see out and about there would be an incredibly long list of things we aren't allowed to do.

insancerre · 22/03/2015 10:31

I don't drive and I do not trust drivers at all.
I would rather cross safely than have to make a mad dash across the road
Some crossings are very confusing, with traffic coming from all angles. In a busy town I would always wait for the green man, especially if I was unfamiliar with the road layout.

drbonnieblossman · 22/03/2015 10:40

When driving your car OP, do you jump the red lights if you deem it safe to?

AlmaMartyr · 22/03/2015 10:41

Habit, and I got run over by a car when I was younger (crossing a road I thought was clear) so now I don't take risks with crossing the road.

SuburbanRhonda · 22/03/2015 10:42

bean

What would you do if you were walking your own child to school and wanted to cross on red?

LittleRedDinosaur · 22/03/2015 10:44

Either press the button and wait or don't press the button and just cross but I wouldn't press the button and not wait.

RenataFlitworth · 22/03/2015 10:46

im not disabled but im nervous around roads after being hit by a car as a teenager. I usually wait unless its obviously clear, but if its a big road or a junction then ill definitely wait. cars come out of nowhere when im around

Same here, exactly the same in fact. I'm now quite an anxious pedestrian.

RenataFlitworth · 22/03/2015 10:48

I was on a proper zebra crossing, btw. The driver chose to drive over it anyway.

JigsawsAreAllLittlePieces · 22/03/2015 10:49

To set an example to young children waiting for the crossing.
Because my life isn't that busy that I must rush everywhere. :)

The crossing near here is in 2 parts with a railed off path in the middle of the road so you enter at the right and walk to the left to access the second part. Frequently people dash across the first part and then are kept waiting by the sheer amount of traffic on the second part which doesn't stop until forced to by the lights changing so they don't gain anything by dashing.

SlaggyIsland · 22/03/2015 10:51

I'm an anxious pedestrian as well. I saw a little child knocked down and killed when I was a teenager.
I often find myself diligently waiting as the people I'm with saunter off across the road!

AngelsWithSilverWings · 22/03/2015 10:51

I didn't used to rely in the green man but years of walking the kids to school along busy roads have got me into the habit even when the kids are not with me.

BuildYourOwnSnowman · 22/03/2015 10:51

Tbh the last two times I ha a close shave with a car the green man was on! I don't know if driving standards are worse but recently I've noticed a lot more people go through a red light or stop so they make an abrupt stop a few feet from someone crossing.

These days, red man or not, I am extremely cautious crossing.

outtahell · 22/03/2015 10:52

I usually wait for the green man because the a lot of the drivers here are bloody terrifying to be honest. Speeding, curb-driving, light-running fuckers - so why make it even easier to get hit by one?

LadyFlumpalot · 22/03/2015 10:55

I thought this was a thread about me for a moment!

Last week I had to dash across the road as I could see my train pulling in - it was safe to do so but there was a mum and two girls waiting at the lights. I apologised as I went past and she gave me a bit of a confused face!

Dawndonnaagain · 22/03/2015 11:02

Because my ds of 20 may have a tic and fall over in the middle of the road, which may not be empty by the time he recovers. So, he waits for the right light. That way, should he have a tic and fall, the drivers are definitely able to see him and their cars are stationary.

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