Woman stepped out in front of my car

[User5306921]

I was driving on a relatively busy road. I was going straight but there was a right turn ahead of me.
The traffic going in the opposite direction was at a standstill.

I noticed a woman with her head in her phone, standing at the edge of the footpath.

I'm not sure why, probably the way she was too close to the edge of the path, but I slowed down a bit, I was doing maybe 20 miles under the limit on the road.

The woman literally stepped out on the road right in front of my car. I braked suddenly, thankfully didn't hit her, and she continued walking across, head down, still looking at her phone.

I got an awful shock. The car going in the opposite direction (who had stopped in the traffic jam) threw his hands up in the air. I don't know if he was gesturing at me or at her.

I was so shaken. If I had hit her would my licence be revoked? I don't have dashcam.

Many years ago, I remember my driving instructor telling me to watch out for people on footpaths in case they step out in front of me. I am very watchful when I see elderly people or young kids.

I can't get it out of my mind.

AIBU - It would be my fault if I hit her and I'd lose my licence.
YANBU - This would have been the pedestrian's fault.

a while back I had an obviously drunk man step out into the road and stumble right in front of my car. Luckily through a village with a 20mph speed limit and I noticed he looked wobbly so was extra vigilant. But like you I worried about if that had happened elsewhere when I’d been driving faster and wasn’t able to stop in time.

I love near a Primary School, Secondary school and college. I try to avoid driving st certain times as this is a daily occurrence. I have even stopped in the middle of road and had a teenager with their face buried in their phone walk into the car.

A family friend killed a pedestrian who rushed out in front of his car. It wasn’t his fault but I don’t think he has ever really got over it.

I always think that as I’m driving a machine that can kill someone, I have more responsibility. It is one of the reasons I don’t particularly like driving.

So why ask ME if she should have to? She merely said a dashcam would cost more than the car was worth

Why I had front and rear dash cams, I’ve been driving 41 years but it’s the other idiots on the roads I don’t trust, that and both my kids having cash for crash claims against them. I trust no one to be honest or clear thinking.

edited to add, I’ve just seen another post about dash cams costing more than the car is worth. Even so.

Best buy budget dash cam is £38.87 on Amazon. I'm getting one after an idiot driver overtook me then turned across me to enter a dual carriageway!

The fact that you were observant, noticed a hazard and slowed down may have saved the pedestrian's life. If you hadn't slowed in advance you may not have been able to avoid her.

Near where I live a woman was killed doing exactly what the pedestrian in your case did. She was very elderly and the local news report suggested she may not have been fully able to assess the traffic, as a result of hearing and vision deterioration.

There was absolutely no finding that the driver was to blame for her death.

When something very frightening happens, our brains very, very often ruminate on the possible bad outcomes and on self-blaming thoughts. I think that is what is happening to you here; you are trapped in a cycle of thoughts about an imaginary bad outcome in which the pedestrian was hurt and it was your fault.

It's like a brain bruise: it will fade gradually over the coming days.

Try to remember to congratulate yourself on what you got right.

I think the forensics that they do on car tyre prints means they can tell an awful lot about what actually happened when you brakes etc.

I think something to bear in mind is that your instincts/subconscious obviously picked up subtle signals and helped you slow down enough to be able to brake. That shows that you're driving as safely as possible and very aware of your surroundings, which is great. You mentioned that you will feel anxious using that road in the future but perhaps this will help reassure you a little? You did everything right and while it's sensible to be cautious where you know there's a risk, try not to let it make you anxious. It wasn't your fault and you handled it well.

This situation happened to a friends relative. She was travelling slowly and well within the speed limit but a secondary school child walked straight out in front of her and ended up under her car. The child unfortunately died but the driver was never thought to be at fault, the child was looking at her phone and totally oblivious to the fact she stepped out in front of a car. Utterly tragic and I doubt any party will ever truly recover.

If you’d hit her it would depend on the severity of any injuries and if there were witnesses prepared to give a statement. Bruises are one thing, broken bones are more serious and worse case scenario death, in which case the investigation can take over a year. But…you didn’t hit her, you saw her and slowed and your instincts were right. No one was hurt, move on and try to stop worrying about what could have happened because it didn’t because you reacted correctly.

It's the pedestrian that has right of way by law.

Many years ago when I was a child my mum was driving home and it was dark. An older lady stepped out in the road in front of her and my mum hit her. The lady died from her injuries. There were no witnesses other than my mum. The police concluded there was nothing that could have been done by my mum to avoid it. I am not sure what the investigation entailed but I think they talked to friends and family of my mum and the lady to ascertain general characters eg was my mum prone to anger, was the lady a daydreamer or depressed.

I think the fact police could check that your ‘victim’ was on her phone at the time and was not at a crossing where she had right of way would be evidence that you weren’t expecting anyone to step out and that she may not have been giving crossing the road her full attention. The police have to have evidence that you did something wrong and caused the collision in order to to charge you with something.

In fact, many are so aware of it they deliberately glare at you as they cut across your path on the road knowing you must slow down for them.

As a pedestrian myself, I am always cautious as I am not sure many drivers know the law has changed.

It’s dangerous to drive significantly under the speed limit, though.

What a stupid, stupid woman. Hopefully one day she will get a blast of a horn and a pile of invective and wake the fuck up.

Because you’re operating a machine that could kill someone. Your attitude is why someone is seriously injured or killed on UK roads every 20 minutes.

Plenty of drivers drive around with their faces in their phones too...

I thought that was at a junction? Not just walking into a road without warning?

The other driver was definitely throwing their hands up in disbelief at the pedestrian, not at you. If they were sat waiting in a queue they would have seen exactly what happened.

Try strolling across a motorway in rush hour!
The right of way only applies at junctions or crossings.

@User5306921 the law was changed recently and the priority now is always the pedestrian, even though they behave so ridiculously stupid while crossing the road. this is always going to be an accident waiting to happen. I have had pedestrians nearly shit themselves when I have tooted the horn at them crossing the road while looking at their phone!! drivers should not be blamed though, for pedestrian stupidity!!!

@SeriaMau its illegal to walk on the motorway.

It sounds horrible OP, however take comfort from the fact that you did not hit her. You responded in the best possible way, something felt off, you took your foot off and slowed down, you were able to stop. Nothing in this scenario puts you in the wrong. You read the road and did the right thing, you drove well! Agree the other driver was hands up at her not you! So don’t be scared doing the same road again, your hazard awareness is great, you prevented an accident from happening.

I did hit someone in the same type of situation though booze rather than a phone was the pedestrian’s vulnerability. The police attended and took info then write a letter confirming their reassurance at the scene that there would be no further action. Our pedestrian was injured but it was unavoidable.

No matter what your car is worth I 100% recommend a dash cam. We've had one a few years now and it's saved us hassle and money, in particular when our car was hit in the side by a person coming out of a junction. You can see clearly they don't look in my direction before pulling out. Some insurance companies give a discount for using one.
They are portable, you know! If you change cars you can put it in the new one.