Were we wrong to cross the road in this way?

[UndertheCedartree]

I was taking my DD to school this morning. There is a junction where we need to cross over the road in front then cross over the road to the left. Lots of families including us cross diagonally as it is quicker than crossing both separately.

We were late this morning so there were no other families around. We were crossing the junction and a few seconds before we got onto the pavement a car sounds it's horn loudly at us (scaring poor DD) then came round the corner and started shouting and pointing at us. I just ignored the driver as they were clearly very angry so no point in trying to have a civil conversation.

I always thought if a pedestrian was crossing a road then a car needs to give way to them. Or are we wrong to cross diagonally?

So if you'd either walked on the actual diagonal (instead of the this weird zigzaggy route you decided on) or done the basic reasonable thing of picking up the pace slightly when you see the green man go out youd have been off the crossing in time.

Honestly at this point I think you're trying to change your story to cover yourself, but even if I take you at your word I can see why the driver was annonyed!

Anyone who beeps at a parent and kid is an arse hole

Just to add to this - when there is a predestrian cross that must take precedence over these rules?

Going through a green light turning and someone is waiting for the green man to cross - surely I don't need to stop for them....right?

If the driver did not shout at OP she would have not made this post and still be oblivious to the danger she was putting her and her child in.

Driver has actually helped OP.

🤣🤣🤣

make sure if you’re walking to school you don’t take any short cuts. Those driving will think you’re lazy not to walk the long way round and putting the safety of your child at risk

Indeed and they would be right!

Neither do you as a pedestrian it seems.

You didn’t make it on time because you were crossing incorrectly. Please don’t do this - drivers will expect you to cross sensibly.

Indeed and they would be right!

them lazy walkers they are getting everywhere, soon they get in a car the better

I accept I was wrong to cross diagonally which was my question. However people are saying the driver was right to aggressively sound the horn at us, that no pedestrian can be on the crossing when the lights change, that my DC don't know road safety and that I wasn't actually on the crossing when the driver sounded her horn. None of that is true and it won't become so if people keep posting it. As for posting, well if you don't you get people like @tomatopsste getting upset that you didn't answer their question and then posting it 4 times.

Good to see you back @UndertheCedartree , where did you cross today?

I'm not arguing about crossing diagonally. I've said that I was unreasonable and won't do it again. Other posters are arguing with me about things outside of that.

That's a bit creepy tracking my bedtime. But, yes, I'm not well. But, it's fine we don't leave late. My DD has Long Covid so sometimes we go in late but it is planned. As I already said we were not running late yesterday I was just bringing her in late.

just seen someone cross in the way you described OP. was very dangerous as they seemed to appear from nowhere. by the time they crossed the lights had changed. also where this happened there are lights for bikes. they change before the ones for other trafic. so was a near miss.
very stupid way to cross a road

That sounds good. I will be more careful.

@UndertheCedartree a bit creepy tracking your bed time? It was a post three under mine?

But yeah I do think it's very fucking weird posting into the small hours about this!

You need to get some more interests in your life!

Can you stop with the twisting of words? You were wrong. That's it.

You said MOST of the time you are on the crossing. You should be on the crossing ALL THE TIME. Thats how crossings work safely. If you walked diagonally, even for a few feet, then you are NOT on the crossing.

When on the official crossing the lights will be in front of you. That is how crossings work safely. There will be no need to look out of the corner of your eye...unless you were not on the official crossing.

You see how this works? Official crossings are designed to be safe, providing you use them properly. You did not. You put yourself and your child in a dangerous situation. I would be annoyed (as both a driver and as a pedestrian) if an adult puts their child in a dangerous position because they were too lazy to use an official crossing properly (you say habit. Bad habits are usually formed through laziness). Btw, horns are designed to be loud. Its part of their functionality.

Yes, I can see that point of view. Drivers can be inpatient with pedestrians and I find often pay no attention to pedestrians crossing the road and then get angry if you hold them up for 5 seconds. I can't see car dominance changing here any time soon as they have tried shared space here but most drivers simply don't give way to pedestrians.

We were literally a couple of seconds off the pavement. I'm not really able to 'pick up my pace' due to a mobility issue but if I had done we would have maybe been half a second quicker. Not sure that means we deserved the abuse. It's interesting that you think we should have crossed purely diagonally when others have been arguing that is so dangerous. Which is true?

Yes, I see your point. It would have helped even more if they were polite, especially for my DD.

Well then if you can't pick up your pace, cross sensibly and within the guidelines?

Ok

People aren't saying not to teach your children explicitly about road safety, but rather it is an ongoing process you should instruct them, telling them that some adults cross unsafely but they need to always follow the guidelines. It is though also important to show them by always crossing safely, following the rules yourself when you are with them.

It sounds as if it is worth writing to the council and suggesting redesignating it as a diagonal crossing as well as going across each individual road and increasing the timing if that is how many people use it.

When drivers are being inpatient with me crossing or whatever it does always suprise me because they're going to get where they're going much quicker than me! Then they spend ages circling so they can park as close to school as possible when they could just go in the car park and walk through!

You shouldn't cross diagonaly, but doing some kind of half and half diagonally to half way across one of the crossings is even worse.

Just to be clear I don't belive you actually did that because taking half a shortcut makes no sense! I think you were trying to mitigate what you already admitted to but actually just made it worse.

Your question was "Were we wrong to cross the road in this way?" and the answer is yes you were.