For expecting people standing at pelican crossings to have pressed the button?

[hopsalong]

This keeps happening to me. Arrive at a pelican/ puffin crossing where two or three people (or more) are already waiting on my side. Stand behind them assuming (as surely always used to be the case!) that they have pressed the button and the lights are about to change. Look at my phone.

Time passes.

The lights never change. They seem unconcerned by this. They look at their phones.

Sometimes I say loudly 'oh dear me, did no one think to press the button' in a middle-aged way.
Usually I edge over and press it.

Is not touching the button a post-Covid thing?
And what happens to these people if a button jabber doesn't show up?!

[MRSE20]

This is such a weird thing to be annoyed about but I get annoyed about it sometimes too! Multiple people waiting at my side or the other side, I walk up and waiting and see not one of them have pressed the button yet. Weird isn’t it? Lol

[Johnnysgirl]

Just press it yourself when you arrive, then you won't have to worry about what other people may or may not have done.
Doesn't the light come on when it's pressed?

[MRSE20]

Like why are you waiting? It’s not going to change unless you press the button is it!

[PurpleBananas22]

My DH does this! Not sure if he does it just with me or if alone too. If we are together and approach a crossing he will just stand there and expect me to push the button. I've no idea why he does it! Sometimes I also just stand there and wait for him to do it which is both amusing and infuriating at the same time.

Perhaps in this scenario you then arrive and then you and I are quietly huffing and puffing about the same thing?!

[DenholmElliot1]

Lol this happened to me once now I always make sure I press the button myself.

If you want a job done properly, do it yourself!

[megletthesecond]

Yanbu. It does my head in. I usually double check these days.

[tickticksnooze]

It's incredible that the human race has lasted this long. We don't seem as bright as we think we are.

[NightmareSlashDelightful]

Yes, I’ve noticed this happening a lot recently! Increasing numbers of people seem oblivious or unwilling to push the button, and will stand there waiting in vain for traffic to stop (and in Edinburgh, traffic signals take ages to change anyway).

Maybe it’s a weird pandemic hangover thing? People still think they can get covid from a button?

[RedWingBoots]

Some crossing automatically go to a green walk signal after a few minutes. There are crossings near me that do this. One even has a count down timer.

The annoying thing is that they are staggered crossings. So to cross another part of the road or the road adjacent to it you have to press the button which some people just don't do.

Luckily I have a child who will press the buttons anyway....

[WatchoRulo]

YABU - just look at the light and if it's not showing, press the button and bask in your superiority.

[WatchoRulo]

BTW in low traffic situations I don't press the button as I won't need the signal to cross.

[GasPanic]

Is this because some of the newer ones have automatic sensors to detect people ?

Most of the people waiting will be staring at videos of kittens on their mobiles, so they won't care if they cross or not.

[ChairOfInvisibleStudies]

There are a lot of junctions where I live where the pedestrian lights are phased with the junction traffic lights and pressing the button makes absolutely no difference to when the lights change. I've been ticked off before for not pressing the button there but it is pointless, so I still don't bother. Can't understand it for a regular crossing though.

[Youcancallmeirrelevant]

I only press it if i can't see a gap in traffic soon, i wouldn't automatically press it as that could make traffic stop for no real reason if there was going to be a gap

[Keyansier]

It's because people are too busy glued to their phones, including you OP, which is your excuse as to why you didn't notice.

[KupoNutCoffee]

Sometimes I don't bother pressing if there's only a handful of cars and it won't take that long to wait. But I'm actively looking to cross the road not just waiting on my phone.

Some lights give you ages to cross - great for those who need it obviously, but I feel a weird cringe having held up the traffic for just me to walk across the road, while it sits on red 10/15 seconds after I've gone. Naturally...overthinking it.

I'll press it eventually if there's no immediate gap.

[AnApparitionQuipped]

In crossings at junctions, the button is a placebo. The lights change according to let different traffic streams through and it makes no difference whether you've pressed the button or not - it will go green at any point in the traffic flow when it's safe to cross.

[Sparklybees]

I get irritated by the opposite. I'll have pressed the button, the light is on and yet people still walk up and insistently press it. Maybe there's some factor I don't know about that means the more it is pressed, the quicker the lights change!

Never seen it thr way described in OP but yes that would be annoying too!

[NightmareSlashDelightful]

The most frustrating ones are where there’s a bunch of dimwits people already clustered round it, yet none of them have thought to push it, meaning if you want to push it you’ve got to barge through a wall of flesh to do so.

[MorrisZapp]

Absolutely the norm round here, and it's a herd thing. If the first person doesn't push it, new arrivals won't either, a bit like the first answer on an AIBU thread.

I always just push it but it's beyond irritating if I have to say excuse me, or to lean across people.

Students are the absolute worst, and younger people in general. I think maybe pressing the button isn't seen as cool.

Same on the bus. Teenagers upstairs refuse to press the bell or stand up until the bus is almost at the stop, then they fling themselves wildly down the stairs and off. Anyone pressing or standing up in advance of the stop is Not Cool.

[Needmorelego]

Ha ha. I get this ALL THE TIME. I frequently push in front of people or lean over to press the button in a dramatic way.
There can be 20 people there when I get to a crossing and they are all stood there like lemons.

[NightmareSlashDelightful]

@AnApparitionQuipped

In crossings at junctions, the button is a placebo. The lights change according to let different traffic streams through and it makes no difference whether you've pressed the button or not - it will go green at any point in the traffic flow when it's safe to cross.

Not always. Most of the junctions here only cycle in the pedestrian crossing bit if someone’s actually pushed the button. Otherwise it just cycles round the traffic lanes.

[Tontostitis]

My dh doesn't press the button either he seems to see crossing at a timing of his choice a sign of his immense masculinity. Twat.

[poppypetal]

Some have a sensor so if you press the button but then stand back, the sensor can't detect you so it cancels the process because it 'thinks' there's no one there. I learnt this the hard way and probably people thought I hadn't pressed the button and was just standing there like a numpty when I actually had, but made the mistake of moving out of the the sensors reach! And yes, it took me a long while to figure this out 😳

[BadAmbassador]

There's one near my house that cancels itself after you press it...so you think you've pressed it but unknown to you the red light has gone out again. So the next person comes and presses it and looks at you like you're an idiot 😂