To think cars just don’t stop for pedestrians like they used to?

[UsernameHistoryNotAvailable]

There’s a busy road near my house. No pelican crossing but zebra crossing in place on both sides of the road which has a little island bit in the middle.

Used to be able to cross just fine!!! Now it’s a neverending battle to get across and end up waiting in the middle bit like a dork for minutes as no car will let me across! It’s never stop/start either as I could just go across then but always just car after car flying down the road and barely anyone stops any more.

I’ve noticed it in other areas too, like people seem to not say thank you when you hold the door open, they barge past without saying excuse me.

is it just me or are people just generally getting ruder? It took me EIGHT minutes to cross the road this morning as no one would bloody stop!!

I'm going to be entirely sexist here, and say I've noticed it's mostly women who do this. And the more women on the road the more often it happens, so I've noticed the distinct increase as well!

But in all fairness it's probably more in line with safety as you shouldn't really signal for a pedestrian to cross in case another car pulls out of nowhere and knocks them down. Annoying when you're trying to get somewhere with no decent crossings though.

YANBU general standards of driving are in severe decline.

Yes I've noticed this too, same when crossing the road on a side street etc, does make you think would they bother stopping for a child or elderly

I agree.

Some drivers don't even stop at the traffic lights,by dd's school, when it turns red, but instead speed up anyway.

Some even toot at you when it's your right of way to keep crossing a side road rather than their's to turn left into it.

There's general selfishness with road use, I think.

Where do you live Op because I live in the south? Its quite the opposite, drivers are very good at letting you cross, but standards in the North are noticeably poorer.

I think the issue is drivers should give wait to people waiting to cross, but they don't have to until someone has started crossing. Some drivers take this as liberty to just keep driving!

I'm in the north west and driving rules are 90% good around here I find unless I'm driving in a city then it's all carnage!

I've also noticed that pedestrians used to stop and wait when a car was pulling off their drive. They don't do that anymore. (I've also wondered if it was a northern/southern thing... I was brought up in the north and now live further south)

We're all more impatient

I’ve found the opposite. Now that pedestrians are priority road users cars stop where they wouldn’t before

No, that's not my experience. At a zebra crossing, cars stop.

I’ve noticed it more since my son is walking more I’m heightened to the danger more.
cars will not stop and act as if a red light is a suggestion! Zebra crossings are even worse!
on a side road they curse you for trying to stop and park on dipped curbs where you are supposed to cross.

I’m in the north and found the opposite! People not looking and just stepping out. I have always stopped and given way to them where it was safe to do so.

Cars near me don’t even stop for pedestrian traffic lights and speed up to go through on (very) red lights. This is right next to a school as well. The children know not to cross the road until all cars are stopped, even if the pedestrian light is on green. It’s appalling.

Do you mean across a the pavement? Why would I wait for a car?

Even cyclists don’t stop. We go were in Regents Park near the zoo yesterday a cyclist at a distance and we crossed, couple behind us began to cross and then screaming from the cyclist watch out, can’t you see etc! All this rather than breaking and clearly accelerating when coming towards an established crossing point etc!

No idea if it's better or worse than it used to be but what's clear is you're doing this all wrong OP. Take a step or two into the road while looking very firmly at the driver. As a pp said, they don't have to stop until you're actually in the road. And also, it's a battle of wills - you have to make it absolutely clear to the fuckers that you do indeed intend to cross. I call it the pedestrian stare of death 😁

DH got run over on a zebra crossing (fortunately covered by CCTV). I nearly got skittled by a mountain biker on a long distance footpath last weekend - little sod came up behind me and didn’t shout a warning (he would have had plenty of time).

Yes. It was definitely a thing 30 to 40 years ago, at least in W. Yorks and S. Yorks where me and my DH were raised. Pedestrians waited on the pavement when a car was pulling out of their drive.
I guess it was to make the drivers life easier as they pulled out into a gap in the traffic

YANBU

In the SE and on a lovely estate outside of town and we have people using the area as a cut through and speeding through as if it’s a race course. I’ve heard accidents happen outside my bedroom window because people have gone around the bend and ended up hitting the hedge. There’s been people contacting the council to put another crossing in in front of a shop since it’s not only on a bend but there’s a bust stop in front and cars are still speeding through when there are children and parents trying to cross the street to take their children to nursery and school. Some won’t even stop for people and children waiting to cross at the cross in front of the school and barely glance at you. It won’t be long before they add speed bumps because it’s getting ridiculous. Even in town, I’ve seen drivers not paying attention and in their own little world.

I had my youngest in the pram when we were around the town centre and we had the green man. I was about to push the pram when I saw a car out of the corner of my eye and I stopped. The driver didn’t and I watched this man continue to drive through while reaching for something in the backseat, almost half his body was reaching back and his head was on the roof. He wasn’t even looking towards us just straight ahead.

Because often when a car is coming off their drive and they can’t see you/past a bush or whatever so it makes sense to not walk behind it/in front of it and get run over.

I massively agree on this and it’s also the same when you stop and let another driver past a parked car or something, the majority of the time a female driver won’t say thanks.

As far as I can see, everything is already easier for the driver……. A pedestrian has (a very rare) priority on the pavement and I wouldn’t be giving it up. A lot of drivers seem to think like you though and block the pavement anyway.

If and that’s a big If, I could see that it was tricky pulling out but the driver was waiting for me to cross, I would be much more like likely to let them to pull out.

It’s the self entitlement that makes me want to dig my heels in…….

It’s kind of up to the driver to make sure they don’t run you over….. Are you meant to reverse out on to a carriage way?

YANBU about declining driving standards but I disagree with the person who said it was largely women.

Of course if you point this out and want action you are furthering the so-called 'war on the motorist', which is a complete fiction.

If the pavement crosses over the pavement and it’s a blind spot you don’t think it makes sense to stop for a car that’s pulling out that can’t see you? Even if they’re pulling out slowly and forwards I don’t see how walking in front of a moving car makes sense and/or benefits anyone. But whatever works.

How often does this situation actually happen, that a driver is completely blind to someone coming? It’s certainly not some thing I come across every day and it certainly isn’t the situation I was referring to, as you well know. But whatever.