Zebra Crossings - Your understanding

mouth

After contributing heavily to another thread I felt like I wanted to know a little more about peoples thoughts on how a zebra crossing works. I know this sounds odd because it seems so simple: Car waits, pedestrian crosses, car moves but all is not so simple.

I'd like people to be honest in their answer (for example no Google before submitting) to the poll question. I have my own interpretation but your thoughts please.

MichaelW

Pedestrian tries to cross.
Car cruises over ignoring pedestrian.
Cyclist stops car and tells driver he doesnt have right of way over ZC.
Driver calls cyclist "numbnuts"

That's how it works for me.

CakeLovinBeast

I remember being taught road safety at primary school, or more specifically, I remember one thing from being taught road safety at primary school: That was, the pedestrian has right of way, so long as they have at least one foot on the crossing...

Cue 30-odd 8 year olds, all standing tentatively with their toes touching zebra crossings for the next 4 years or so...

nation

The pedestrian, always.

If it worked any other way zebra crossings could never work on roads with constant fast-ish flowing traffic because pedestrians aren't going to (and shouldn't have to) throw themselves in front of traffic just to establish their priority.

chris_bass

[Laws ZPPPCRGD reg 19 & RTRA sect 25(5)]

19
Zebra crossings. Give traffic plenty of time to see you and to stop before you start to cross. Vehicles will need more time when the road is slippery. Wait until traffic has stopped from both directions or the road is clear before crossing. Remember that traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing. Keep looking both ways, and listening, in case a driver or rider has not seen you and attempts to overtake a vehicle that has stopped.

taken from the highway code

kurako

Just let them cross. Why are people such wankers when it comes to this? Chances are you get stopped further up the road for another dumb reason.

veronese68

You should always stop if you can safely. I must confess that if someone has just stepped onto a crossing on the other side of a road I will sometimes glide through. Islands in the middle mean it's two seperate crossings.
Pretty girls definitely make my brakes more effective.

gs3

Driver perspective (mine): A Zebra crossing is a designated crossing area on a roadway where I should expect pedestrians to cross the road when it is safe to do so and should adjust my approach accordingly. If a pedestrian is already on the crossing then they have priority and it is up to me to ensure that the roadway remains clear for the pedestrian even if they have just entered the crossing from the pavement on the opposite side of the road to my vehicle. This includes Zebra crossings which pass through a central island (in a continuous line - no staggering of the black/white markings). Once they are clear of the crossing then I can continue my journey.

Pedestrian perspective (also mine): A Zebra crossing is a designated point for me to enter and cross a roadway when it is safe to do so. Once on the crossing I should be able to expect all approaching vehicles to stop and give way to me until I am completely over the crossing and on the opposite pavement from where I started. I do not expect vehicles to stop to allow me to enter the crossing (although I always signal my appreciation if they do).

My biggest pet hate (from either perspective above) is when someone walks up to a Zebra crossing and without looking, walks straight out into the road assuming that a) the driver has seen them and b) the approaching vehicle WILL (be able to) stop in time :x

.

kieranb

gs3 wrote:

Driver perspective (mine): This includes Zebra crossings which pass through a central island (in a continuous line - no staggering of the black/white markings).
.

Just to be clear, from
The Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Pedestrian Crossings Regulations and General Directions 1997

Precedence of pedestrians over vehicles at Zebra crossings

25.—(2) Where there is a refuge for pedestrians or central reservation on a Zebra crossing, the parts of the crossing situated on each side of the refuge for pedestrians or central reservation shall, for the purposes of this regulation, be treated as separate crossings.

gs3

kieranb
Thanx for the official info - my comment is purely my own perspective and if I see someone on a Zebra crossing (even one which passes through an island/central refuge) I will slow down and prepare to stop if it is safe to do so (although regulations say I do not have to). I'm just courteous at heart

plowmar

I'm with CakeLovinBeast re putting foot on crossing to make cars stop. Drummed into me by school and parents.

Main problem was that in those dim and distant days - mid 50's - you had to wait ages for a car to come along and stop before you could cross.

Tom Butcher

It's pretty clear in the Highway code isn't it - drivers should look out for pedestrians who may be about to cross and stop in time should a pedestrian do so - in other words a car should stop if a pedestrian looks like they want to cross.

mouth

Tom Butcher wrote:

It's pretty clear in the Highway code isn't it - drivers should look out for pedestrians who may be about to cross and stop in time should a pedestrian do so - in other words a car should stop if a pedestrian looks like they want to cross.

Hmm. rule 19 (in the section for pedestrians) clearly states that traffic only has to stop if the pedestrian is already on the crossing. It says in both sections ie for road users and pedestrians to be wary of either cars approaching or pedestrians approaching. My personal interpretation is that the road user has R.O.W. unless a pedestrian is already on the crossing. When I studied my bus license this was also the view of both my instructor and the examiner. He minored me for hesitation when I waited for a pedestrian to cross.

Tom Butcher

Yes but a vehicle must be ready to stop should a pedestrian step onto a crossing - if they don't slow down for people waiting by the crossing then they are not ready to stop.

"Zebra crossings. As you approach a zebra crossing
look out for pedestrians waiting to cross and be ready to slow down or stop to let them cross"

It's pretty clear that a road user does not have ROW - it just doesn't allow for peds to step out without giving vehicles a chance to stop. In other words common sense - vehicles should slow down and stop if a ped appears to wan to cross - but they shouldn't be expected to be a mind reader.

plowmar

But surely the ped. has to make their intentions clear - foot on crossing - rather than road user slowing down to accommodate any one standing by a zebra crossing ?

spen666

Mouth wrote:

After contributing heavily to another thread I felt like I wanted to know a little more about peoples thoughts on how a zebra crossing works. I know this sounds odd because it seems so simple: Car waits, pedestrian crosses, car moves but all is not so simple.

I'd like people to be honest in their answer (for example no Google before submitting) to the poll question. I have my own interpretation but your thoughts please.

So you are not interested in the correct position, but want people's opinions no matter how wrong they are?


Seems to me to be a pointless approach

merkin

:roll:

puzzle

Regardless of whether I'm riding the motorbike or in the car, at a crossing I reduce speed and gear down by one gear. Therefore, I am ready to stop should someone run out into the crossing. People seem to be assuming that you see the person trying to cross, when in fact there's nothing to stop someone running out of a shop and straight onto a crossing without looking!
On the bicycle same rules apply, only I don't change down as I don't need to utilise engine braking and the speed is significantly slower!

mouth

spen666 wrote:

Mouth wrote:

After contributing heavily to another thread I felt like I wanted to know a little more about peoples thoughts on how a zebra crossing works. I know this sounds odd because it seems so simple: Car waits, pedestrian crosses, car moves but all is not so simple.

I'd like people to be honest in their answer (for example no Google before submitting) to the poll question. I have my own interpretation but your thoughts please.

So you are not interested in the correct position, but want people's opinions no matter how wrong they are?


Seems to me to be a pointless approach

I already know the correct position. What I was looking for was what other people think they're supposed to do. The idea of not looking for an answer to a question before they answer it is to get their honest opinion. If that person who submits their answer then goes on to look for the answer and then learns the correct method/ruling/theory then that's surely a good thing. Worth mentioning that to date that 52% of voters have the wrong interpretation (based on 51 votes).

We all know how to apply common sense, for example if you see someone waiting then you're probably gonna slow down. If you see a crossing ahead, then you will also make an allowance or this. BUT if you've been sat at a crossing in a city centre for three minutes and suddenly there's a point where no-one is actually on the crossing, what are you gonna do? Even when there are people who look like they're going to cross.

What really gets my goat is when a pedestrian waits at a crossing for you to stop before they'll cross. The Highway Code (rule 19 specifically) clearly states that the road user only has to stop once a pedestrian is on the crossing, hence the foot-in-road thing. In this situation, I just carry on.

Mr_Cellophane

The most annoying thing is two people who decide to have a conversation next to a ZC !
Do they want to cross or not !!!! :evil:

mouth

Mr_Cellophane wrote:

The most annoying thing is two people who decide to have a conversation next to a ZC !
Do they want to cross or not !!!! :evil:

If their foot ain't on the crossing, don't matter. Proceed.

MrChuck

Mouth wrote:

What really gets my goat is when a pedestrian waits at a crossing for you to stop before they'll cross. The Highway Code (rule 19 specifically) clearly states that the road user only has to stop once a pedestrian is on the crossing, hence the foot-in-road thing. In this situation, I just carry on.

As a cyclist, surely it's not hard to see why people might do that? We all know the roads are full of massive tw@ts (or at least people who behave like massive tw@ts in their cars) so you can't blame pedestrians for not having too much faith in them.

mouth

MrChuck wrote:

Mouth wrote:

What really gets my goat is when a pedestrian waits at a crossing for you to stop before they'll cross. The Highway Code (rule 19 specifically) clearly states that the road user only has to stop once a pedestrian is on the crossing, hence the foot-in-road thing. In this situation, I just carry on.

As a cyclist, surely it's not hard to see why people might do that? We all know the roads are full of massive tw@ts (or at least people who behave like massive tw@ts in their cars) so you can't blame pedestrians for not having too much faith in them.

fair point

cookdn

MrChuck wrote:

As a cyclist, surely it's not hard to see why people might do that? We all know the roads are full of massive tw@ts (or at least people who behave like massive tw@ts in their cars) so you can't blame pedestrians for not having too much faith in them.

Yep, might have been ok in the 70's, but a little out of touch for the volume and behaviour of traffic on the roads now.

We have had a crossing installed near our house after years of campaigning from the local councillors. The County Council finally caved in the aftermath of a nasty accident involving a teenage pedestrian only weeks after denying the latest request on the basis that there was no history of accidents. They have installed a Zebra; before it went in I thought this was a sensible move as the crossing is near shops and is a route for the local comprehensive kids; they would have worn out the button on a Pelican by now unecessarily stopping traffic.

However my position was based on my naive assumption that most motorists would exercise restraint and caution once the crossing was installed. The reality is that in many respects the road is more dangerous to cross as many drivers completely ignore the crossing whether there are pedestrians on it or not. Ironically this includes Mothers driving their kids to the shops after picking them up from the local (easy walking distance) schools. Now I wish they had put in a Pelican, sod the inconvenienced motorists. The Police have been up a few times to watch the traffic, but they give the impression that they are powerless to intervene unless there is an incident. :?

beverick

BTW, the correct answer is 'none of the above'. There is no such thing as 'Right of way' the correct phrase is 'priority over'.

Bob