Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think a driver (or cyclist) having to give way to a pedestrian waiting to cross is a crazy new rule?

449 replies

flashbac · 31/12/2021 07:17

To clarify, if a pedestrian is waiting to cross on a road a driver is turning into, new rules from January state the driver has to let them cross.
Also applies to cyclists as pedestrians have priority.
All very well and good until you consider how chaotic this could be at junctions. Fine on unbusy roads.
I'm thinking:
What if you are turning into a 30 mph road from a 40?
What if you are turning right at a busy junction?

It sounds crazy to me.
And before anyone jumps at me and says they do it in Europe and its fine. I'd like to know how congested and busy the roads in these countries are and what the public transport is like.

OP posts:
Enko · 01/01/2022 10:15

Was meant to say isn't wastly different not
is wasn't different

Kennykenkencat · 01/01/2022 10:39

Italy does have the ruling that cars must give way to pedestrians. But I don’t think anyone told the car drivers.
You take your life into your hands when crossing even a zebra crossing.

Whilst our pedestrian death rate is 340-440 Italy’s is over 600.

My concern is that whilst everyone with an iota of common sense is going to be careful when crossing a road there are those who will step out into traffic expecting that cars will magically just freeze on the spot snd not run them over because it is their right of way.

I see problems with things like a nearby junction where there is a triple carriage way (70mph speed limit) and a sharpish obscured left hand turn which continues to be a 70mph speed until you reach the roundabout 30-40 metre down the road.

Those that know the junction do make allowances for vehicles making the turn but every so often you get someone who won’t slow down despite you having your indicators on and the turn has to be done at speed. Add in a pedestrian crossing the junction and there will be deaths

Atm pedestrians wait for you to do the turn.

This ruling I suspect hasn’t been thought through and only limited scenarios have been thought of.
2 abreast cyclists on an unlit single lane country road with blind bends and 60mph speed limit.

It is a recipe for disaster.

elelel · 01/01/2022 10:48

And before anyone jumps at me and says they do it in Europe and its fine. I'd like to know how congested and busy the roads in these countries are and what the public transport is like.

I suppose you could just look out your window.

The UK is in Europe.

ElftonWednesday · 01/01/2022 10:49

Actually in the rest of Europe (we're still actually in Europe, Brexit fans) it can be pretty terrifying crossing roads. Firstly knowing which way to look. Then crossing when it's on red for the cars - often there is still a left filter for cars and in France they definitely do not give way to pedestrians already in the road! And in Northern France it takes ages to get across a pedestrian crossing as cars don't stop for you. I found London drivers polite in comparison afterwards!

Benjispruce5 · 01/01/2022 10:52

When were drivers going to be told? My DD is learning to drive and hasn’t been told either.

Benjispruce5 · 01/01/2022 10:54

I always thought drivers and cyclists have priority in roads and pedestrians are to wait or use crossings. I presume a huge tv ad campaign is forthcoming?

Amymamabear89 · 01/01/2022 11:06

To be honest they haven’t pushed the info enough and I think it is somewhat of a grey area….
I read something that said you SHOULD give way when turning but not must where as it now says on zebra crossing you MUST give way (which to be honest unless it changed I thought it wasn’t a legality before just common curtesy/sense) I mean I could be wrong but they really should give more effort into alerting the public of the changes and explain EXACTLY what the change is Xmas Confused

ThirdElephant · 01/01/2022 11:07

Actually in the rest of Europe (we're still actually in Europe, Brexit fans) it can be pretty terrifying crossing roads.

People don't mean the continent when they say Europe. That'd be casting a very wide net. When you said, 'the rest of Europe' I imagine you weren't including Russia or Azerbaijan in that? When people say Europe, they don't even really mean the EU most of the time- they tend to mean 'the wealthier/more fashionable EU countries'. But that's a bit of a mouthful, so they say Europe, inaccurate as it is. We do need a word that can be used when Mumsnetters want to refer to the wealthier/more fashionable EU countries though, I agree.

jgw1 · 01/01/2022 11:18

@ElftonWednesday

Actually in the rest of Europe (we're still actually in Europe, Brexit fans) it can be pretty terrifying crossing roads. Firstly knowing which way to look. Then crossing when it's on red for the cars - often there is still a left filter for cars and in France they definitely do not give way to pedestrians already in the road! And in Northern France it takes ages to get across a pedestrian crossing as cars don't stop for you. I found London drivers polite in comparison afterwards!
I thought we were now in the Pacific?
takenforgrantednana · 01/01/2022 11:28

@flashbac

To clarify, if a pedestrian is waiting to cross on a road a driver is turning into, new rules from January state the driver has to let them cross. Also applies to cyclists as pedestrians have priority. All very well and good until you consider how chaotic this could be at junctions. Fine on unbusy roads. I'm thinking: What if you are turning into a 30 mph road from a 40? What if you are turning right at a busy junction?

It sounds crazy to me.
And before anyone jumps at me and says they do it in Europe and its fine. I'd like to know how congested and busy the roads in these countries are and what the public transport is like.

i think its totally rediculous! imagine what its going to be like when the kids come out from school and by law they have the right to just cross the road infront of the traffic, the cars having to do emergency stops and the accidents that will happen! what if a person is walking along a busy a road? and needs to cross over, the traffic doing 60 mph, do you really think those cars are going to stop? no chance
Puzzledandpissedoff · 01/01/2022 11:31

I had to giggle about the Italians supposedly having the "pedestrian priority" rule - as was rightly said, pity nobody told the drivers!! Hmm

Svalberg · 01/01/2022 11:49

@takenforgrantednana i think its totally rediculous! imagine what its going to be like when the kids come out from school and by law they have the right to just cross the road infront of the traffic, the cars having to do emergency stops and the accidents that will happen!

Anyone who drives past a school not expecting children to jump out at any point, not looking at what they're doing, should have their driving licence taken off them. Schools at entering & leaving times should be driven past VERY carefully

ThirdElephant · 01/01/2022 12:17

[quote Svalberg]**@takenforgrantednana i think its totally rediculous! imagine what its going to be like when the kids come out from school and by law they have the right to just cross the road infront of the traffic, the cars having to do emergency stops and the accidents that will happen!

Anyone who drives past a school not expecting children to jump out at any point, not looking at what they're doing, should have their driving licence taken off them. Schools at entering & leaving times should be driven past VERY carefully[/quote]
Thing is, secondary school pupils often walk as much as a mile to school. You might see a school and drive very carefully past it, but you might not know that there's one a few streets over. Or is every car within a twenty minute walk of a school not to exceed five miles an hour at the times of 8-9:30 and 15:00-16:30 (schools have different start and end times within these time frames- but maybe drivers ought to know these in advance for every school they drive within a mile of?)

RedHot22 · 01/01/2022 12:23

Most posters are overthinking this

takenforgrantednana · 01/01/2022 12:33

[quote Svalberg]**@takenforgrantednana i think its totally rediculous! imagine what its going to be like when the kids come out from school and by law they have the right to just cross the road infront of the traffic, the cars having to do emergency stops and the accidents that will happen!

Anyone who drives past a school not expecting children to jump out at any point, not looking at what they're doing, should have their driving licence taken off them. Schools at entering & leaving times should be driven past VERY carefully[/quote]
@ Svalberg @ ThirdElephant i can only comment with the local schools to me in mind, one of which is a very busy A road.

and whilst yes you drive with the expectation of kids jumping out, its a very different matter once those kids realise they have the RIGHT to jump out one being thoughtlessness the other being wilful!

phishy · 01/01/2022 13:24

@RedHot22

87% of cyclists on the road also drive a car.

They just choose to cycle to aid congestion and protect the environment

No, a lot of them are MAMILs for the ‘prestige’
WindyState · 01/01/2022 13:32

The suggestion that pedestrians are now going to be happily walking into the road with nay in the world is patently absurd. This just requires drivers to take a tiny bit more care when turning into side roads. I realise for some shit drivers this is a problem.

RedHot22 · 01/01/2022 13:39

@phishy

MAMILS cycling for ‘prestige’ Hmm
Do you mean exercise? won’t really be affected by this new ruling.

jgw1 · 01/01/2022 13:42

Thing is, secondary school pupils often walk as much as a mile to school. You might see a school and drive very carefully past it, but you might not know that there's one a few streets over. Or is every car within a twenty minute walk of a school not to exceed five miles an hour at the times of 8-9:30 and 15:00-16:30 (schools have different start and end times within these time frames- but maybe drivers ought to know these in advance for every school they drive within a mile of?)

This is quite possibly my favourite post of the year.

Well played.

RedHot22 · 01/01/2022 14:11

@jgw1

Thing is, secondary school pupils often walk as much as a mile to school. You might see a school and drive very carefully past it, but you might not know that there's one a few streets over. Or is every car within a twenty minute walk of a school not to exceed five miles an hour at the times of 8-9:30 and 15:00-16:30 (schools have different start and end times within these time frames- but maybe drivers ought to know these in advance for every school they drive within a mile of?)

This is quite possibly my favourite post of the year.

Well played.

Yep - as I said upthread. Overthinking Grin
ErrolTheDragon · 01/01/2022 15:00

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I had to giggle about the Italians supposedly having the "pedestrian priority" rule - as was rightly said, pity nobody told the drivers!! Hmm
Only applies to youngish blonde women, I think. And possibly indomitable older ladies.
SawdustAndHay · 01/01/2022 15:18

I was pleasantly surprised at Italian drivers in Rome. They seem to have more respect for zebra crossings than the French - similar to the British I thought.

ThirdElephant · 01/01/2022 19:55

@jgw1

Thing is, secondary school pupils often walk as much as a mile to school. You might see a school and drive very carefully past it, but you might not know that there's one a few streets over. Or is every car within a twenty minute walk of a school not to exceed five miles an hour at the times of 8-9:30 and 15:00-16:30 (schools have different start and end times within these time frames- but maybe drivers ought to know these in advance for every school they drive within a mile of?)

This is quite possibly my favourite post of the year.

Well played.

I realise it's only the first of January, but I'll take that.

Thanks Grin

jgw1 · 01/01/2022 19:59

*I realise it's only the first of January, but I'll take that.

Thanks *

I may have to give up with satirical posts this year as so many others are doing them as well.

ThirdElephant · 01/01/2022 20:02

@jgw1

*I realise it's only the first of January, but I'll take that.

Thanks *

I may have to give up with satirical posts this year as so many others are doing them as well.

Nah, the more the merrier.