To feel sad at how much worse life is for pedestrians than it was ten years ago

[Fragmentedbrain]

Cars (especially Ubers for some reason?!) no longer reliably stop

Consequences for drivers who hit a pedestrian are minor - you won't necessarily go to jail "the first time" you kill someone and you'll have your licence back within a decade (why not banned for life???)

Roadworks used to prioritise keeping a pedestrian walkway but now it's common for one side of the pavement just to be abruptly cut off, forcing a walk across the road through traffic

And don't even get me started on bicycles on the pavement, "shared spaces" (ie spaces for bullies to race at speed on their bikes while those on foot are expected to scatter). I was actually planning a holiday to Japan until a colleague told me how unsafe the pavements have become in the last few years because of this.

It's the world over as far as I can see (although if you live in an exception could you let me know so I can visit please??) and it just feels like a big part of the dehumanisation of public life and spaces :(

Was really angry to see that on the shared cycle/pedestrian footpath, defined half for each, leading to a nearby coastal town where the annual air show was taking place, hundreds of drivers had parked entirely over the pedestrian section. Completely off the road. Forced equally hundreds of pedestrians, lots of families with kids and people with dogs, cyclists, runners, people using mobility scooters to share the cycle path. Accident asking to happen.

Why the hell the council didn’t slap a parking fine on every one of the vehicles (some were bloody camper vans that also took up part of the cycle lane!), god knows. Selfish arseholes.

Why the pedestrian path is on the outside of the road, right next to the traffic in the first place is another question. Surely pedestrians ought to be on the inside lane with cyclists next to the road?

There, feel a bit better now. 😁

Don’t let it put you off Japan, though. Fabulous country.

I think that cyclists are the ones causing all of the stress and harm to everyone

I do my best to be cautious of them, looking in my left mirror constantly, constantly on edge

Pedestrians are an after thought tbh, which is dangerous 😳

Driving is just stressful in london

I am so sad about it but I just can't do it! It would be a really expensive exercise in massive stress.

Cyclists definitely get planning priority at the moment, it seems. I can barely cross a road at one large section of my city.

Floating bus stops are a menace. And massive cycle paths that weave across pavements.

Driving standards are appalling , cars take up so much of our infrastructure and public transport is barely an afterthought. Yet motorists still complain about being persecuted. They will hit a cyclist and still moan its all the cyclists fault

While this may be true, what does it have to do with pedestrians?

Indeed - it always descends into this and we're left at the bottom of the heap which is bizarre since everyone is a pavement user at least sometimes surely??? We should be #1

Just reading all the comments about cyclists being the real problem despite almost every death of a pedestrian is caused by being hit by a motorist

I have found Japan to be very safe for pedestrians. If there are roadworks on a pavement, they have uniformed guards who ensure that pedestrians are safe using the diversion - well this was in Tokyo, but I’m sure it isn’t specific to there.

Cyclists are what scare me most day to day so I'm not going to pretend it's just a car problem. Urban planning has hugely increased the problem by removing protected spaces from pedestrians in crap attempts to seem cycle friendly.

I don't know where your friend got their info from but Japan is safe for everyone, especially if you are on foot. Drivers are clinically cautious and obey all crossing and other road signs. As long as you do too you will be fine.

It’s the motorised scooters here with little twats in balaclavas that I can’t stand, much worse than cyclists.

To be honest, you sound over-anxious about this if you’re allowing a comment about cyclists in Japan to stop you from going to country you clearly want to visit and is known for being a well-ordered and well-behaved society.

I’m in London and am a pedestrian, public transport user, driver and occasional cyclist. Being a pedestrian is far and away the least stressful of all of those.

Indeed. I felt safer during our visits to Japan than I do in much of the UK. Again, OP, please don’t be put off going.

I walk to work along a busy main road with lots of side streets. I fear for my life every time I cross a side street as cars will swing in from nowhere as I've already started crossing and blare their horn at me (I have checked for cars before stepping out and, technically, it's the road crosser's right of way). I hate it. Everyone is so impatient.

NOBODY seems to know about the pedestrian right of way on a turn it's maddening.

Yeah why tf do the police just ignore them!

I would love if you'd do me a favour and not cycle then... It's not "too anxious" to find it totally unenjoyable to be somewhere bikes race by at speed without warning or distance.

You think cyclists are causing all the harm? The statistics would suggest that’s very much not the case.

Motor vehicles seriously injure, on average, 15 people per day in the UK. For bicycles, the figure is around 2 per week. Your perception of risk is rather skewed.

Yes, my everyday experience is the stress of not hitting a helmetless cyclist distracting from other aspects of driving

Its just dangerous for everyone 🥺🥺

Sometimes you even see parents cycling with their babies strapped to the bike

Indeed. Trouble is pedestrians know that many drivers don't know about it so the pedestrians, valuing their life, still wait. This reinforces the pattern and nothing changes.

Cyclists are legitimate road users, as are horses, large, slow-moving vehicles etc. You should not be getting stressed by trying not to hit them.