Just because you can legally walk the road does not mean you should.

[walkthisway0]

Firstly I am in Ireland, but google makes me think it is the same in the UK.

Around where I live there are plenty of very busy, narrow, country roads that are 80km (50mph). Filled with many cars, tractors, lorries etc.

Some people walk these roads or run on them. I know legally they are allowed to but I think it is pure madness. There is one person who is often out walking with a baby in a pram. I have had to stop and wait to pass as there is a stream of traffic coming the other way. But I have also nearly been hit by a lorry who coming around a bend met her and over took as he would never have stopped in time.

I don't go around corners at 80km but I proceed as 'expecting something to be there' but it's still a shock to find a lorry on your side!

There is also a person who regularly runs towards the traffic (as recommended) in roughly the middle of the lane and does not move closer to the side.

I pass other people who are aware of the traffic around themselves and adjust. When my car was broken I walked into town a few times and would step in when a car came.

AIBU to think that while yes you are legally allowed to do this, no it is not a good idea?

Around here there's no room for pavements. There are lots of roads that are single track.

You are completely unreasonable Very Very unreasonable.

You're basically saying that unless a person has a car, they shouldn't leave the house on foot unless it's the once-a-week bus.

People are more important than cars.

It's weird that people cannot comprehend that all these little country roads once only had pedestrians (and horses ) on them.

Cars are the imposters not the pedestrians.

It was so lovely duringcovid when so many people went out walking and cycling because there were so many fewer cars on the roads.

If you must drive somewhere, at least drive in a way that recognises the need to create a safe environment for cyclists and pedestrians. The more people who walk and cycle the better for the planet and our health

I’m a good and careful driver. PP is imagining things about me, and being condescending with it, because I’m wary of pedestrians around blind bends on narrow country roads.

I lost a family member in a road traffic accident. I’m not a lunatic, maybe just more aware than most of how dangerous cars can be and how lives can be destroyed in a split second.

It's weird that people cannot comprehend that all these little country roads once only had pedestrians (and horses ) on them. Cars are the imposters not the pedestrians.

Of course people comprehend that.

But times change - yes, pedestrians are still allowed on the roads but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous and that they’re not putting themselves in danger.

If you read the Highway Code for pedestrians when walking along a road with no pavement, they should take as much care as a driver would in a car. They should be swapping sides of the roads at corners to enable drivers to see them. They should be well lit and visible. They should be walking in single file.

Everything you have said goes against the highway code.

I'm talking about hazards. We should be all responsible for ourselves being a hazard. When you complete your hazard perception test, pedestrians are classed as hazards. Cars are a hazard, people are hazards.

If you read my posts, I have never stated that people shouldn't use the road, I have said that everyone should be taking more responsibility for themselves.

I do, thank you! I even have a HGV license. No points, never managed to run anyone down. I drive hundreds and hundreds of miles each week for work. I drive hundreds of miles at weekends with my lorry. I have seen it all. The entitlement, the lack of patience, people taking risks needlessly, pedestrians thinking they would win against cars. I've seen near misses. I drive past RTCs every weekly.

There's no need to be dramatic. Where on earth did I say hedge hopping and swimming in ditches?! Common courtesy to step into the side, for your own sake and everyone elses sake.

And why wouldn't two cars potentially crash? There is ALWAYS the possibility of crashes, they happen every day. Why wouldn't you want to take responsibility for your own life? Why would you want to rely on a person driving a lump of metal? You don't know if they're well enough to be behind that wheel, could be drunk or on drugs, on the phone, sneezing, changing the radio, distracted by a crying baby, you just don't know. I certainly take responsibility for my own life and if I heard a car, I would stop and make sure I'm as far away from the road as possible.

Which is why I have said from the beginning of this thread, the responsibility should come from everyone using the road, not just drivers of vehicles.

I have a mobility scooter and would dearly love to visit my friend in a nearby village - but the roads don't have pavements. I am aware of how ridiculously fast people drive along those windy roads and that there are often ditches or llittle rivers which one could step over easily, but my scooter can't. So, I don't go to see her.

I remember when I was younger being able to just walk along, squeeze into the hedgerows if a car came (always walk on the side with the traffic is coming towards you) but I'm not sure I trust modern drivers unless they're locals - and how can I tell?

I'll see her new house one day.

You've just reminded me of the old guy on a mobility scooter and his blind friend who used to do a daily loop of the road past my house and the back lanes every day in all but the worst weather. Rural roads should be treated as the shared space they are - footpath, road, bridelway, cycle path - and safe enough for all!

You said
Entitlement comes to letting two cars potentially crash on a narrow road instead of stepping on the grass verge because as a pedestrian, you're more entitled.
That clearly implies that you think pedastrians are directly responsible for a drivers lack of hazard perception.

Why would you want to rely on a person driving a lump of metal? You don't know if they're well enough to be behind that wheel, could be drunk or on drugs, on the phone, sneezing, changing the radio, distracted by a crying baby, you just don't know

Because you would literally never walk down an actual pavement or travel in a car if you considered this all the time, we all take these risks every single day, we shouldn't have to also contend with the arrogance and entilement of drivers thinking they are above other road users.

Oh and i raise you HGV licence, I'm a paramedic, i've seen drug driving HGV drivers and had a parent whose wife and child just died tell me he "just didn't see it (other vehicle)" and that he "was just distracted", and i've been to way to many collapses at the wheel.

As a professional driver you should be striving to improve road safety not making excuses for poor drivers.

Everyone should be more responsible for themselves.

You're arguing against me when we agree on the same things.

I just think people should step into the side on a narrow country road. As a paramedic, wouldn't you want people to be responsible for their own safety too?

It's not a game. We want the same outcome.

And don't exist in Ireland where the OP is.

NSL implies "drive according to the road, up to a limit of 50/60/70 depending upon the road and vehicle". A 40 limit implies that it is indeed safe to do 40 in normal conditions. That's why they don't just sign "60" on NSL roads. In the old days of course the sign meant "end of restrictions" and you would just do whatever speed it was safe to do, but it turned out that people cannot be trusted.

A limit of 40 would still be safer than one of 60 on most narrow country roads, though.

If pedestrians cannot walk home at night, how are people supposed to get home? Sunset can be as early as 15:30 in Scotland.

That's not how it works though. Stick a 40 sign up and people do 40, regardless of the conditions because the sign said 40 and therefore it must be safe to do 40.

NSL encourages a bit more thinking about the conditions. The sign doesn't explicitly say 60, so you aren't going to have the number 60 in mind. So in the absence of an apparent instruction as to what speed you should do, you end up thinking more and slowing down as appropriate.

The only alternative I can see is to more heavily restrict roads in a blanket fashion - obviously it's not practical or advisable to have a restriction change every time a bend becomes a straight so you'd just sign the entire road to match the slowest point - probably 20mph.

That’s not my experience of country/rural driving at all I have to say.

I've been thinking so looked it up, in a lot of England (didn't check the rest of the UK) you are legally allowed to walk on a lot A roads, unless there is a sign saying you can't. It doesn't mean you should. Or at the very least if you do you should be taking extreme precautions. The roads I put up pictures of are the main roads between towns around where I live and as such are often streams of traffic in both directions.

From the Highway Codehttps://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians.html

General guidance (1 to 6)
1
Pavements and footways (including any path along the side of a road) should be used if provided. Where possible, avoid being next to the kerb with your back to the traffic. If you have to step into the road, look both ways first. Always remain aware of your environment and avoid unnecessary distractions. Always show due care and consideration for others.

2
If there is no pavement, keep to the right-hand side of the road so that you can see oncoming traffic. You should take extra care and

be prepared to walk in single file, especially on narrow roads or in poor light
keep close to the side of the road.
It may be safer to cross the road well before a sharp right-hand bend so that oncoming traffic has a better chance of seeing you. Cross back after the bend.

3
Help other road users to see you. Wear or carry something light-coloured, bright or fluorescent in poor daylight conditions. When it is dark, use reflective materials (e.g. armbands, sashes, waistcoats, jackets, footwear), which can be seen by drivers using headlights up to three times as far away as non-reflective materials.

Help yourself to be seen
4
Young children should not be out alone on the pavement or road (see Rule 7). When taking children out, keep between them and the traffic and hold their hands firmly. Strap very young children into push-chairs or use reins. When pushing a young child in a buggy, do not push the buggy into the road when checking to see if it is clear to cross, particularly from between parked vehicles.

5
Organised walks or parades involving large groups of people walking along a road should use a pavement if available; if one is not, they should keep to the left. Look-outs should be positioned at the front and back of the group, and they should wear fluorescent clothes in daylight and reflective clothes in the dark. At night, the look-out in front should show a white light and the one at the back a red light. People on the outside of large groups should also carry lights and wear reflective clothing.

6
Motorways. Pedestrians MUST NOT be on motorways or slip roads except in an emergency (see Rule 271 and Rule 275).
Laws RTRA sect 17, MT(E&W)R 1982 as amended, reg 15(1)(b) & MT(S)R reg 13

I think there should be a speed limit of 20mph on rural roads and country lanes that have no white lines in the middle (ie those that are too narrow to have a dividing line).

Such roads should be treated as being essentially bridleways/footpaths on which cars are permitted but where pedestrians, horses and cyclists have priority. On such roads, motor vehicles should not be permitted to overtake or pass other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, except at passing places or lay-bys. If a vehicle approaches a pedestrian, horse rider or cyclist coming in the opposite direction, the vehicle should stop and wait for the other person to go past them before continuing.

I think if the above rules were implemented, a great deal more people would be out walking or cycling and we'd all be a lot safer, fitter and happier.

Personally, I think that pedestrians should not be allowed to walk on major A roads, especially dual carriageways. Those types of roads should have the same status as motorways, imo.

How do you think that work in rural areas when those roads are the only way of getting anywhere?