To have shouted at the person who walked out in front of me?

[Biancadelrioisback]

I know I was really, but why do people do this?!
People who walked onto the road in without looking properly, or people who see you driving on the road or reversing out of a space and decide to walk there anyways? I've had to slam on my breaks so many times recently and today was the straw that broke the camels back.
Driving down the main street in my town and a lady with a young boy (around 8 maybe?) walk out in front of me. She clearly saw me, I saw her look at me, she just walked out with her hand raised as if to say thanks. I had to slam my breaks on so the stuff on the passenger seat fell into the footwell. There are crossings on the road for pedestrians so no need to walk out where she did. The child didn't event acknowledge my car, was just chatting away to his mum/the lady.
I had the window down anyways and I yelled out that she needs to look before crossing the road rather than just expecting cars to stop. She yelled back at me to fuck off but I drove off so no idea what followed. So frustrating!

Teddy did you actually read the thread?

I think that Teddybear45 needs to read the Highway Code again. The only time that you need to stop for a pedestrian who looks like they are about to cross the road is at a zebra crossing. Other than that, the edge of the pavement is the point where the pedestrian needs to stop, and look right, left, right before crossing. Obviously, drivers do need to be aware that pedestrians may step into the road, but you don't need to stop for everyone who is looking right, left and right because they are thinking of crossing the road.

I would stop every time it looks like a pedestrian is about to cross. Highway code or no hwc

Oh come on. I'm calling bullshit on these posters saying they would stop for every single possible person they see who might possibly want to cross. Bullshit. They've obviously never driven a car. Cars moving at a snail's pace and putting on the brakes and stopping for every single person standing or even looking like they might fancy approaching the road would cause absolute havoc and probably pedestrian deaths or injuries.

Imagine you're the overly cautious driver, stopping for every bloody person you think might want to cross. You stop. The pedestrian, clearly confused as to what the fuck is going on because they like all other sensible people are waiting for a break in traffic to cross safely, walk out in front of the stopped car straight into the path of any other cars on the road using it properly.

I have shouted at people before. Many times. Sometimes a word. Depending on age, etc.

A boy of about 11-12 came out from between two parked cars a few weeks ago and dashed across the road. I obviously stopped, but wound down the window and called him back over, I told him he could have been killed and that my own children were thrown forward in their seats in order to not run him over. He nervously apologised and promised not to do it again and all the rest of it. When a fully grown adult does it, they get a mouthful, especially with a pram or small child. Why the fuck would you just cross a car-filled road and take the risk with children, plus putting the road users at risk? The mind boggles at the lack of responsible thinking! They deserve a bollocking.

@katerinapetrova - my thoughts exactly!

What Katerina said.

Imagine if every car going down a street slowed down or stopped for every pedestrian who was near the kerb! Nobody would ever move. Its ridiculous.

If someone is stupid enough to walk out onto a road without checking for traffic or expects every car to stop suddenly for them then they deserve a reality check.

Playing chicken with a ton of moving metal is actually beyond stupid.

They don’t need to as everyone goes in the car everywhere, pedestrians are diminishing in numbers at a rapid rate

Sadly true but not as much as pavements are diminishing. As a pedestrian, navigating your way through a supermarket or business park, towards a shop door, that has no pavements isn't much fun. There is a large supermarket where I live that has an access road that bends sharply into the car park. No pavement and pedestrians have no alternative but to walk on the road. I've seen cars screaming round this bend with no regard for pedestrians even though there are warning signs. Shouting at people and honking their horns.

Too many car drivers have a sense of entitlement. They seem to be under the impression that the road belongs to them and that pedestrians should only use crossings. Pedestrians have every right to cross a road, where ever they please.

Its interesting noticing how little spacial awareness some car owners have when they occasionally do walk on the pavement themselves. Because they hardly ever walk anywhere and are so used to sitting down, they constantly bang into other people when they walk about . This is quite noticeable on a Saturday afternoon.

@flaxmeadow - your last paragraph is bonkers 😂 How the hell would you know which pedestrians are car owners??

@Canshopwillshop

By the way they walk. You can tell they're not used to walking on a street, especially a crowded high street. They only walk on the streets very occasionally and so lack spacial awareness.

If someone uses a car a lot. They don't mix with pedestrians. They go from house door to car door to work door to supermarket door, to friends door and so on, and back again

Its just an observation

Nah, still bonkers!

If you have ever walked with hordes commuters in big cities like London, you do quickly realise how well coordinated the crowd is to allow that number of people to move so quickly. So I too believe that people that mainly drive are not as aware as pedestrians.

There are also spots in London where the constant stream of people at rush hour mean that it is extremely difficult for vehicles to move across crossings. Cars don't rule everywhere - you have to be sensitive to the place you are driving through.

Same applies in Cambridge- you simply have to learn to drive with a huge number of cyclists taking up space and behaving unpredictably. If you can't do that, you shouldn't be driving there.

People behave ridiculously in supermarket carparks, dashing behind me as I start to reverse, sauntering along without a care in the world in the middle of the road. I don't know how there are not more accidents.

YANBU at all. I don't get this. These pedestrians are operating under the stupid illusion that every single driver is in a position to stop for them. I wouldn't have shouted at them, but I have been know to pull my car over and explain painstakingly why this is a bad idea on their part, which I hope may make them reconsider their actions in future on the off-chance that they encounter a pedant such as myself. . . .

flash your talking utter bullshit, you have absolutely no clue who drives and who walks!

You can't stop for every pedestrian who wants to cross, for one thing the car coming the other way might not stop! And secondly you'd never get anywhere.

I don't think anyone on this thread has said they can't manage to stop for these pedestrians, just that it's frustrating and scary to have to slam on your brakes when someone steps out in front of you. Which happens regardless of how good a driver you are! It doesn't mean you think your car rules the road. OP hasn't said she was frustrated because her journey was interrupted, she was frustrated because she could have killed someone! Tbh when I'm a pedestrian and see it happen I want to shout at these people!

Also up until this year I have walked to work/school/uni since I was 10 yrs old. I am still shit at walking in crowds. Because everyone pushes you and it's claustrophic.

People can walk everywhere and not be good at crowds. They might just live in a town like a large percentage of the population

Alles - glad you're out there on the roads policing others behaviour so effectively

I drive to work and I drive to the supermarket. That doesn't mean I don't walk wherever I can. I live quite close to the town centre so it's a lovely 20 min walk past the river. I spend most of my weekend walking around the town and in parks. I hate walking around our closest city because loads of people walk without looking! Again! Heads buried in phones or staring into the shops and not realising they're ambling diagonally across the walk way or spread across and entire pavement and refuse to drop down to single file to pass other groups of people forcing some one onto the road. I can't tell who is a driver and who isn't when walking. I don't really see how there can be any correlation...

@Vulpine somebody has to. Some people are too idiotic to think for themselves and therefore require someone to point out the blindingly obvious, i.e. "don't walk out in front of my car, you absolute clown."

Are you one of those people who assume that I'll be happy to put my own life and that of my passengers in danger because you can't be bothered to walk a few metres to the nearest crossing?