Have people stopped giving a shit when crossing the road?

[whywei]

Twice in a matter of days I've had to slam my breaks on to avoid hitting a pedestrian crossing the road whilst on the phone. Both times neither were looking at traffic but just in their own bubble walkng as slow as possible (guy today was even smiling to himself). I'm talking big roads - in fact, I remember an old man dying in the exact spot I came across today (when I was a child).

I'm usually a live and let live kind of person but this seems to be happening more and more.

Do people have no self-preservation instinct?

It depends when they’re stepping out into the road, if it’s just as you’re turning the corner for example then they have a right of way. If they’re literally just walking out right in front of your car then they’re batshit and don’t care about the consequences!

When I took my driving test, part of the test was an emergency stop and it had to be done correctly otherwise it was a failed test. This was incase random reason meant the driver had to stop

Try cycling in London.

And then when I dare to ring my bell they glare at me like I’m so unreasonable for warning them of my presence

I'm on the other side. I walk everywhere and the amount of drivers who don't indicate is unbelievable. I never know when I can cross the road.

Totally agree with this too. Saw one driver flick his indicator on one second before the turn and he must have been sitting at the junction for a good minute

Today a group of teenaged boys stopped at the crossing so I stopped the car. All of them waved as they walked across. I kept talking about them to the kids all the way home because I was so thrilled!!! Yes in general, a lot out there are expecting drivers to just stop

As I drive in the area regularly, I emailed our local university suggesting they introduce the Green Cross Code to all of their students - 90% do not know how to cross a road safely - seriously! 😨
It's nothing short of a miracle that nobody has been badly hurt.

I’d say at least a third of people crossing the road are on their phones. It’s a 30 mile road. If a car is going at the normal speed limit, there may just not be time to slam on the breaks and stop. Particularly not if they just jumped in front of you or if the road was wet. If you don’t have a dash cam, you could be in big trouble as a driver. Mind you, the provisions for pedestrian crossing was absolute cack where I lived. Basically blind corner central.

This may not be popular but I think it's a selfishness problem.
The sort of pedestrian who takes their chances and expects everyone to revolve around their poor hazard perception is probably a driver (or will become a driver) who also fails to consider there is a world beyond their bubble because they're very much a "my zone my bubble what suits me right now" person.

Yeh pretty much.

Kid on a bike cycles hands free, looking down texting on a phone, out of a side road and across to the other side.

Queue a van and a bus missing by a foot or so, horns and tire screeches everywhere.

Not the first close call I have seen this week, the closest in a while but its more than 2 a week. Will be more now I walk my kid to school every day too.

Oh gosh! Did the nasty pedestrian almost get under your wheels? Don’t they know how busy and important you are? Poor you 😢

The combination of being addicted to smart phones and the sense of entitlement that many teenagers have makes them think the world revolves around them, which means they float around in their social media bubbles, completely unaware of their surroundings. Then they get a bit of a shock when a ton of metal crashes into them at speed. It will be even worse as electric cars become more prevalent, as they are silent (though there is talk of imposing regulations to make them emit some sort of noise, to alert pedestrians to their presence).

I often think the smarter the phone, the more stupid the person who is carrying it.

Driving is getting more stressful and dangerous with each passing day, and being a pedestrian is full of hazards too - people on phones walking into you, kids on cycles and scooters, skateboarders and OAPs on their mobility buggies (who may have been banned from driving on health grounds, but are now zooming around on the pavement in vehicles thah could knock someone over). YANBU, OP, it really is a minefield, walking or driving anywhere. We all just need to stay vigilent and that includes putting the phones away during travel, unless you're a passenger.

I would like a return of safety ads on tv, green cross code and Charlie says etc. The basic obvious stuff is clearly not basic or obvious unless children are taught it. Children spend very little time unsupervised and learning by trial and error now so can become teenagers then adults lacking in wariness perhaps.

There seems to be an increasing refusal to interact with environment, something to do with technology creating common sense deficit...

@UserX don’t be a twat.

Also, lots of people walking slowly across the middle of car parks, never looking behind them while you crawl behind them for five minutes.

I’d say that ship’s already sailed @Perisoire

Can I also add adults completely out of grabbing distance of tiny children scampering way way ahead on busy streets or across car parks with no idea or awareness of danger?

Gives me the heebes indeed.

I live in a tourist town that has a lot of traffic in the summer. Hardly anyone looks to cross the road, they just start walking

They stopped giving a shit a long time ago tbh🙄

It happens to me all the time when I'm cycling through town. People just step out on their phone. I now just roll really slowly everywhere I go because I'm so scared of hitting someone. It takes me about four years to get to work now.

This is why I am always bemused by parents giving teenagers smartphones to help them stay safe when walking back home etc....

It's odd as I was just thinking the opposite yesterday, I recently had quite a few drivers not stopping at a zebra crossing where surely I have right of way? Also drivers who stop at red man crossings (don't know the offical name) in the middle of the crossing so you have to walk round them!

Smartphones don’t help, people are not fully aware of what’s around them

More city cyclists mean drivers need to be more alert too

I bought a dashcam last year I look on it as insurance for random events

I've had this twice in a week! Yesterday I was driving along slowly, planning on turning left into our road. There was a woman pushing a pram walking along the pavement and as I put my indicator on I thought 'oh she will look and see me in a sec before crossing'. Nope! Just pushed her baby out into the road and carried on walking. I was just stopped dead on the bend looking at her like She didn't have headphones in and wasn't on the phone.

I had some madwoman do this in a supermarket car park, and then get really irate when I used my horn. “I WAS PERFECTLY AWARE OF YOU!”

Erm, was it a death wish, then? Did you expect me to wait through your meandering attempt to cross the road with your back to me?

Some people are just entitled and rude.

My 13 year old son crosses a busy road every day with no crossing and I've hammered home to him the importance of being vigilant. To not look at his phone while crossing, to focus on crossing and not chatting. I hate that road because drivers speed up it.

I crossed a wide, busy road in the centre of town at a crossing the other day, walking at a reasonably swift pace but there simply wasn't enough time to cross. The cars were revving to go and had I had mobility issues I'd have no chance crossing in time!

I also walked up to another crossing in town and couldn't guarantee the driver would stop. They sped up to the crossing and slammed on their brakes.

People seem to drive so quickly and impatiently.

As a driver, I am very mindful of the damage I can cause and have not had to slam my brakes on for pedestrians thankfully.

What worries me are the gangs of teens cycling in the middle of the road doing wheelies and how easy it is for them to come off.