Almost got knocked over at a zebra crossing

[UsernameRandom19]

I have attached a badly drawn picture I did in paint. I was walking out of a Mcdonald's car park and walking across a zebra crossing and was half way across the zebra crossing (im the yellow dot in the picture). There was a big SUV (red car in picture) so I stopped a second to make sure nothing was coming, and it is a good thing I did because just passed the zebra crossing without stopping. I was half way on the crossing and she did not notice me even when she drove past me. If I did not stop I would have been run hit.

Peoples driving seems to be alot worse nowadays, surely if there is a zebra crossing and reduced visibility due to other cars you be careful and make sure no one is crossing.
I was mentioning it to my mum and she said I should contact Mcdonald's for CCTV footage to report to the police for dangerous driving - should I or is that silly?

You've said yourself that they couldn't see you. You haven't indicated that the driver was speeding or acting dangerously. The driver was unaware it's a zebra crossing. If they are unfamiliar with the road, maybe they're completely oblivious to it's existence. The zebra crossings at McDonalds are usually just painted on the road, they don't tend to have have the flashing lights that would draw extra attention.

You did the right thing by pausing to check.

I can't fathom why CCTV or police reports would be required for a complete non-event.

This happens to me almost daily.
Even at pelican crossing with traffic lights.
It's ridiculous.

As a minimum it’s driving without due care & attention, and potentially dangerous driving

Report to the police, and optionally inform the local McDonalds so that they retain CCTV footage pending contact from the police

My friend was out for a jog one afternoon, while 8 weeks pregnant. She was hit by a car that didn’t stop on a zebra crossing and she broke her ankle. She also ended up miscarrying. The driver drove off and was never caught. It makes me so fucking angry when I see this.

Edited to add that I would report this as this driver is a serious danger to pedestrians.

Um, I hope you are not a driver.

Happened to me. Already stepped out on the crossing and thanked the driver on the opposite side when a pair of idiots pull up so close and at such speed that I felt a strong gust from their car.

People are stupid. If you see one car, or a queue, stopped then maybe stop at the zebra crossing? So stupid. And they won't apologise either, just sit there with a dazed look.

If a driver can’t see there’s a zebra crossing and isn’t aware of a pedestrian on the road then they are driving dangerously. And if their eyesight is that bad, shouldn’t be driving at all.

If they can’t see lines on the road they aren’t paying attention, and if they can’t see due to an obstructed view they aren’t paying sufficient attention to be aware of pedestrians crossing a pedestrian crossing which are out of view due to vehicles stopped in front of a pedestrian crossing

Don’t be ridiculous!
A zebra crossing is obvious even on an unfamiliar road. Car drivers don’t get a free pass by saying they didn’t see you.

@MaryBethMayfair I'm sure you'll get lots of responses, but I want to add: You should always be prepared to stop at a zebra crossing unless you see that it's clear. There's really no excuse.

If you can't see a pedestrian, then you e already fucked up. Look at the stopped cars and take heed.

@MaryBethMayfair The driver was unaware it's a zebra crossing.

If they can’t see high contrast road markings right across the lane they are driving on then they shouldn’t be driving.

I hope you don't drive, this is an appalling thing to say. If a driver can't see a zebra crossing, they shouldn't be driving. Doesn't matter if they're familiar. OP please do contact McDonalds to see if there's CCTV, so you can report to police.

@DoYouSmokePaul
I'm so sorry, that is awful. It is scary how bad some drivers are nowadays.

@MaryBethMayfair
If they did not notice it is a Zebra Crossing - that is not a good excuse for almost hitting someone

The driver was unaware it's a zebra crossing. If they are unfamiliar with the road, maybe they're completely oblivious to it's existence.

What? How could you not see a zebra crossing?

Any driver should be cautious approaching a zebra crossing. The pedestrian has the right of way at a zebra crossing. Unless you are confident that there is no pedestrian anywhere on any pavement nearby, preparing to potentially cross the road appropriately, you should always slow.

My brother was almost killed on a zebra crossing when he was a child. He was half way across and realised the oncoming car wasn't going to stop so he ran. The car still clipped him and flung him onto the pavement- thankfully not seriously injured but battered and bruised.
It ended in court with a large fine, ban, compensation payout etc.

I drilled it into my own DC to never trust drivers approaching crossings. I may have even been a bit OTT (!) but driving standards are much worse now. There is simply no excuse for inattention, and car parks are some of the worst places for this.

@MaryBethMayfair you need to book * *yourself another driving test.

I have to cross one with the kids on the school run and it's a death trap.. they just keep coming like they don't know what a zebra crossing is for.

I've nearly been hit on a pelican crossing on a red light, and once I stopped a blind man crossing - car which would have hit him after he started to cross with the green man. The driver appeared to have not even seen the crossing or the red light.

I've been at some pelicans in the morning and watched drivers just sail through red lights, totally oblivious.

At our McDs they just have painted white lines but if there's another car in front then they're blocking them from view, there's no Belisha beacons like there would be if it was an actual zebra crossing.

Having said that, I have raised bad lighting with local councils in areas locally where there are no streetlights. At dusk or at night as you are driving up you cannot see if someone is standing there waiting to cross, or even starting to cross, as the crossings are so badly lit. Pedestrians should wear hi vis as well in those conditions but very few do.

Something similar happened to me a few days ago at a McDonald's. I stepped out onto the zebra crossing and a car coming out of the drive thru just drove on without stopping. It looked like he was leaning over eating his food off the passenger seat and didn't even appear to notice me, I had to stop in the middle of the crossing or he'd have run me over.

I know someone knocked over on a zebra crossing 10 years ago. I'm far more cautious post pandemic as I can see around me that people's driving has got worse. Mobile phones hand at all times, vaping at every opportunity, and generally I think people just don't care. The thought of hitting someone isn't off-putting enough anymore. Cycling with a child on the back has made me realise people don't even care about hitting a child. I was forced to brake very hard to avoid an oncoming car coming into my lane recently, and the lorry driver watching laughed. We could have died.

Are you talking about blind drivers? I'm really confused now🤔

I don't cross at zebra, pelican crossings unless both sides have stopped, it's too risky assuming the car is going to stop. So many time especially at pelican crossings, vehicles just sail through on red lights totally unaware.

Even worse pelican crossing near roundabouts, cars stopped in the middle off the crossing cause there queuing to go round the roundabout and pedestrians can't cross as blocking the road when it's on green to cross.

I cross a zebra crossing to get to work and back. The amount of times I have nearly been run down is untrue. They come flying up when I am halfway across and just don’t seem to even register it’s a crossing.
One bloke in a transit van did spot me. Leant out of his window and shouted “next time I’ll fucking run you over”. So charming.
I’m not doing anything unusual. Just walking to the crossing at a normal pace, checking the road and walking across. It’s scary.