Crossing the road when there’s not a green man

[JabbyMcJabFace16]

I’ve just had possibly the strangest interaction of my life and just need some opinions on it.

I was at a pretty busy junction that I cross everyday, twice a day. I know that between the first two sets of lights, there is a thirty second pause which is long enough for me to cross the road in. I went to step out during this pause when a woman stood next to me put her arm across me and said, quite pointedly “I don’t think so! We only cross when we see a green man, don’t we [child’s name]. She then held her arm across me until the green man came up.

I do understand that it’s important for parents to teach their children road safety, but I also know this junction so well and it’s absolutely freezing tonight. I was stood there for a good 3 minutes longer than I needed to be because this woman wouldn’t let me go.

AIBU to think this is just going too far?

Yes I've been told off in Germany too. I don't care. I am big and ugly enough to work out when the road is safe to cross.

To everyone moaning about people in other countries 'telling them off' - maybe they don't want you to get a fine? Or maybe you can stop being a disrespectful, shit tourist and learn the laws of the place that you are visiting? Also no one 'sashays' across the road unless they are in drag...

Reminds me of Ivan Dimitrov and the Colosseum: "Oh I didn't know it wasn't allowed!!' Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

I regard it as my constitutional right to jaywalk, particularly as I know that in Germany they are fanatical about obeying the red and the green man.

However I always observe the pedestrian lights when I see that there is a young child with a parent who is trying to teach them about road safety. On the rare occasions when I’ve started across I’ve apologised, step back and said that the parent is quite right.

I don’t care if people are fined in other countries for disobeying pedestrian lights. That’s nothing to do with me. Nevertheless, I’m well aware that if they were to be an accident, my position would be very much weakened because of contributory negligence. Still and all, if there are no cars around, it’s bonkers to stand there while absolutely nothing happens, until there’s a green light for the pedestrians.

In many countries around the world it is illegal not to wait until the lights signal you should cross. It is also often illegal to cross the road other than at a designated crossing place. It could be that the woman wasn't aware that we don't have similar jaywalking rules in the UK.

I'd have just kept walking. She doesn't get to tell me what to do. When I'm with my children I always obey the green man, to set a good example and teach them. I don't stop other people doing otherwise and can just explain to my children that it's not a good idea.

I don't teach blind obedience to the green man either. I teach them to not trust the cars to stop and check before crossing on the green man.

I would never had done what she did. After you crossed, I’d pull up my kid and say, “what she did was wrong, we always cross on the green man!” There are other ways of her setting a good example. But for what it’s worth, I myself would have waited because I wanted to set a good example!

In the UK?

Your constitutional right? To disobey laws in other countries?

I've heard it all now...

No, it isn't in the UK, unless directed by a uniformed police officer who is directing the traffic (if I remember the Roads Act properly).

The poster said "here" so I was just trying to clarify where "here" is before I assumed they weren't in the UK

If I see children at a crossing I do tend to wait for the green light, but that is entirely my choice. No should feel they can actively prevent you from crossing when you want too, that's bizarre behaviour.

Oddly I once had the opposite experience, I was waiting for the light to change to green and some random man (yes of course it was a man) grabbed my elbow and started steering me firmly across the road, I had to practically wrestle my way out of his grip, the fucker.

Fair enough. I think the UK, hence why I gave the UK legal answer.

such passive aggressiveness is almost more annoying than directly blocking the road! Besides being incorrect - OP (who was there) said the road was completely empty. Crossing a completely empty road isn't "very dangerous" behaviour. What do you do when you come to a road that doesn't have lights, just stand there forever?

Oh yuck - I think I would have kicked him.

Wow, I don't think I would have reacted well at all if that had happened to me.

I don't have kids, don't want them, and don't really like them. I am not there to help their parent's teach them stuff.

Teaching them to just trust the green man isn’t a good example though.

Having seen how people drive where I live, I would not trust the green man anyway. I wait until the cars have stopped before crossing.

I’m a notorious jay-walker (my friends hate going into the city with me), but I never take risks whilst doing so. I would not have stood for that woman impeding me, would have told her to get her hands off me, and continued to cross the road.

A shove and a 'get the fuck off me' would have done it.

This green man identifies as a red man. Look carefully, and you will see it’s a green man with a leg cut off.

This actually made me laugh 🤣 she’s bonkers. I always wait for the green man when I have my 5 year old DS with me but I couldn’t care less what others do!

She sounds like a busy body. When he was very little, my son loudly announced to me that a lady was naughty for crossing when there was no green man. I just said that she probably has years of experience crossing roads and is able to judge when it is safe. He, on the other hand, must wait for the green man. It's no-one else's job to set an example for other people's children.

"Kindly unhand me, madam. You're impeding my lawful business." 😅

or

"Sorry, are you mistaking Croydon High Street for New York City? Jaywalking is not an offence in the UK"

You and this overbearing mother must live in a very ‘naice’ neighbourhood, the response she’d get where I live would have expanded the child’s vocabulary considerably!

Firstly, I wasn't a tourist - I was working there and as a side note, I can safely say that Germans don't work harder than us - they're the biggest clock-watchers I ever came across - so much for that myth.

And no - they weren't concerned citizens worried about me or anyone else getting fined for crossing a road with zero traffic on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The sashaying piece was just for comic effect - I was actually annoyed at the stupidity of waiting for a light bulb to give us all permission to cross an empty road so I boldly crossed the road (pun intended).

They were just sheep policing what they thought was another sheep.
Where could that type of mindset possibly go wrong?