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

[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.

@MargaretThursday

Only time I've had a prang was when I stopped to let a pedestrian cross, when the lights were out at a Pelican crossing. If I hadn't had the handbrake on, it would probably have shunted me into the pedestrian, so more dangerous for them too. Cost the driver being £600, even though they were only doing 5-10mph at the time.

Someone nearly reversed into me at a crossing on a supermarket car park. I saw them pulling out so beeped the horn, and got a mouthful from the pedestrians 😭 I was trying to gesticulate that I was beeping the car!

i hope there will be new sentencing guidelines so that the 1800 people killed by drivers (each year) start getting some justice, instead of 3 points and £200 fine.

Unlikely, the sentences in most cases are appalling

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I was the driver in this scenario and turned into a road letting a woman cross, the guy turning behind me whacked straight into me!

This is the problem - this is why people are worried.

I mean you should be indicating, slowing and checking anyway, so the driver attempting the turn should see the pedestrian and stop, problem is the car coming behind you at 30 will not be doing this observation and runs the risk of back ending you thinking "why the fuck have you breaked when trying to turn in to a clear road" if they can't see an obscured pedestrian.

I don't think it will pedestrians who are hit it's going to be the initial driver back ended on some occasions, meaning all our insurance premiums are going to go up. Might be wise to protect any no claims bonuses now in preparation for this.

@loudbatperson

I think if more drivers and cyclist obeyed the old rule (pedestrians already crossing the new road had priority over those turning in), and drove accordingly and cautiously when turning into a junction, the new rule wouldn't have been needed.

If pedestrians were to be aware of their surroundings instead of being glued to their phone there would be fewer accidents, this new law seems to be allowing pedestrians to do what they like with no personal responsibility. More fodder for the lawyers.

I thought let-side-road-crossers-finish-crossing was the rule in Highway Code for last 30 years. I wait for crossers when driving. OOps.

as a non driver it does have potential for accidents and more so for the elderly i think , one of the old dears in my mums retirement home was a nightmare for this , she would just step out into the road regardless of looking to see for traffic and cross , it was a busy road as well ,when my mum said to her she was worried about her getting hit by a car , the reply was oh well they have to stop for me dont they , bit difficult when they were sometimes doing 40 up that road

Totally agree. And I am quite often a pedestrian and more than happy to wait for it to be clear to cross!

The trouble in car obsessed societies like Britain is that some people literally don't walk anywhere except inside a shopping mall/their pedestrianised town centre. They have therefore completely stopped caring about the overall pedestrian experience, just viewing them as a nuisance, the same way they view cyclists. And they then drove accordingly. When of course the reality is that 80-90% of the population is still part of this "nuisance" group and it's these "I drive everywhere" group who are the extremists.

It’s a great idea

It’s coming into force later in January and will be well publicised before then

@KiloWhat

Partly because they may just be hovering and not intending to cross there are very few people who hover at the edge of a pavement and if someone is hovering there then a driver should be aware of the potential hazard and going slowly enough that should their intention be to cross then it will become obvious and brakes can be applied.

I get your point about the vans. Maybe they should be more aggressive with their use of double yellow lines.

To get to my office I have to turn off a main road into the entrance. The amount of people who hover there amazes me - either cross or don't! I've had to beep people having a conversation in the middle as well, completely oblivious to the fact that they are standing in a road talking and people are waiting!

Comments "they already do it in Europe" Yes and they do have a higher casualty rate. In France It is not coming down much either.

@HunterHearstHelmsley

Anyone turning into side streets at 30mph is driving dangerously. Slowing down to turn into a side street is not the same thing as driving everywhere at 15mph, as someone here somewhat disingenuously suggested.

It wasn't a disingenuous suggestion. It was a glib comment. As I've already said and as you've already read.

@HunterHearstHelmsley I type at 15mph and hadn't read your follow up. Glibness isn't the overall tone of this thread, so I failed to spot that it was yours. My apologies.

@Cam77

The trouble in car obsessed societies like Britain is that some people literally don't walk anywhere except inside a shopping mall/their pedestrianised town centre. They have therefore completely stopped caring about the overall pedestrian experience, just viewing them as a nuisance, the same way they view cyclists. And they then drove accordingly. When of course the reality is that 80-90% of the population is still part of this "nuisance" group and it's these "I drive everywhere" group who are the extremists.

Are we that car obsessed? Do you drive?

Premiums will go up. Pedestrians will carry on walking and get hit by a car already slowed for the junction. You get a tidy sum for a broken leg even without claiming loss of earnings.

I'm not even a driver but this new rule is ridiculous.

@Petal12

Do you have a link to an official publication of this new rule please? I work in liability and motor insurance and it’s something we should absolutely be aware of but nothings filtered down to my knowledge.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1481767/Highway-Code-2021-changes-rules-full-list-evg/amp

So you work in this industry and didn’t know?!?!

So all road users are now going to need to be more aware and turn slower at junctions.

How could anyone not perceive this as a good thing?

Also, all those saying they won’t be telling their children they can just cross. Surely you always ask them to check anyway?! Even at pedestrian crossings. Everyone should be checking regardless, green light or not.

As if cyclists are going to stop for pedestrians, new rules or not.

@RedHot22

So all road users are now going to need to be more aware and turn slower at junctions.

How could anyone not perceive this as a good thing?

Also, all those saying they won’t be telling their children they can just cross. Surely you always ask them to check anyway?! Even at pedestrian crossings. Everyone should be checking regardless, green light or not.

More people will be hit by cars.

Yep. There's too many bad drivers. This is going going cause problems. As mostly a pedestrian I'll stick to the old rules and cross where it is safe.

And as someone who did advanced driving I'll be glad I have a dash cam in case I need to stop and someone driving too close hits me from behind.

I don't see how this is workable in city centres. In Edinburgh, especially during the festival, there would be a continual flow of pedestrians across side streets and junctions - cars would be gridlocked and stuck for hours, waiting for a gap.

Stupid rule, you can’t always see that someone is waiting to cross as you turn a corner!
Also with the amount of people refusing to use pedestrians crossings/lights and hovering at corners it’s difficult to tell.

We were driving slowly through a town last week, when a lass with headphones on and glued to her phone stepped in front of us, then back on the pavement and then into and across the road; seemingly totally oblivious to the fact there were metal boxes that could hurt her. Luckily, dh was very aware she was there, but these new rules will mean less caution from pedestrians.

I lived in Belgium where on a right hand turn with the light green for cars, the next light down would be green for cars, but also green for pedestrians. Not the safest place in the world for pedestrians or drivers.

@RedHot22

So all road users are now going to need to be more aware and turn slower at junctions.

How could anyone not perceive this as a good thing?

Also, all those saying they won’t be telling their children they can just cross. Surely you always ask them to check anyway?! Even at pedestrian crossings. Everyone should be checking regardless, green light or not.

Because I am more important than any pedestrian. You can tell this because I can afford to be in a Chelsea tractor rushing to my very important appointment.

Also, all those saying they won’t be telling their children they can just cross. Surely you always ask them to check anyway?! Even at pedestrian crossings. Everyone should be checking regardless, green light or not.

Obviously, but the new rules mean you should expect a car to stop for you. Currently I teach my son never to cross in front of a car unless it's stopped at a red light and we have a green light.
There's a road we cross nearly daily that has a few roads merging on it and the amount of drivers who 'helpfully' stop and try to wave us across the road whilst there's cars coming from the apposite direction is unreal.