Pedestrians and Right of Way

[angellous_evangellous]

Do pedestrians have the right of way?

What is a pedestrian?

What about parking lots? My grandfather is downright insane while driving in Wal-Mart parking lots and does NOT yield right of way to ANYONE. He's nearly hit mothers with children several times - despite my constant warnings, he won't change. It's downright unsettling.

In Fort Worth, some people just stand out in the middle of the road and talk - there are no sidewalks in my nieghborhood. I usually coast down residential streets at about 5 mph at night with my brights on - for some of these folk I have to drive right up to them before they move. This doesn't really bother me in residential neighborhoods.

The only really irritating thing about pedestrians to me is when they wander around aimlessly in the street (especially multiple-lane roads) or just stand there.

 

[CaptainXeroid]

A pedestrian who enters a crosswalk during a walk sign has the right of way, no questions asked. In other situations, and depending on the locality, the law may vary.

A Pedestrian is someone who is on foot. Some bicyclists seem to want to be cars so they can ride in the road AND pedestrians when they don't want to wait on the red lights. WRONG ANSWER!! Same road, same rights, SAME RULES!!

Parking lots are usually private property, so it's unlikely a 'jaywalking' pedstrian would be ticketed. When you are operating a vehicle you are required to do so safely, and your grandfather is putting himself at risk of legal action if he were to hit someone.

There are some sections of metro ATL with pedestrian problems as well.:banghead3: As Booko, can attest, people will stroll across busy streets, in no big hurry and showing no regard to speeding cars. If you dare honk at the idiot, sometimes you get a look like you've done something wrong. BTW...Atlanta was ranked as one of the most unfriendly cities to pedestrians due to lack of and disrepair of sidewalks.:sorry1:

The people who just stand and talk in the street do bug me. I mean, when I was a kid, we played in the streets, but when someone yelled CAR!, we MOVED OUT OF THE WAY! All that is required is some common sense and human decency. I guess that's beyond some people.:faint:

Breathe deeply Glen....Ok...all better now.

 

[evearael]

When I was a teenager, I used to lay out in the road and look at the stars with friends. That was really stupid. We had at least one person looking out for cars and if one came, we would pretend to be lawn ornaments. One night, as we were all in amusing lawn ornament positions, we realized the car was actually a police cruiser and he rode slowly by with his light on us and then drove off. That was horribly embarassing, but at least we didn't get busted for staying up past curfew.

 

[Fluffy]

There is no such thing as jaywalking in England... pedestrians always have right of way (so far as I am aware). Regardless of what the law says, this is always going to be the case anyway since nobody is going to be able to justify to themselves knocking down a pedestrian simply because they should not have been in the road.

If you dare honk at the idiot, sometimes you get a look like you've done something wrong.

That, however, would be against the law in England. A horn is there to alert other road users to your prescence so that they don't cause damage to you. It may not be used to shift other people out of your way or to let somebody else know that they just did something wrong/illegal.

 

[evearael]

I do agree that pedestrians typically have the right of way, but I think many are lacking in courtesy. I know a guy back home who habitually walks in front of vehicles because they 'have to stop' or he will sue.

 

[CaptainXeroid]

...That, however, would be against the law in England...

If that were the case on this side of the pond, half our drivers would be in jail everyday...particularly in big cities like New York.:biglaugh:

I guess I should have mentioned that regional different persist. If you jaywalk in the South, you'll likely get a glare and maybe a horn while the driver waits for you to clear the road. Up nort, particuarly in Philly, you get the horn, the finger, a 'MOVE IT BUDDY!', AND the driver doesn't slow down one bit. You might want to :run: a bit faster.

One other thought on the law aspect of this question. If a pedestrian fails to acknowledge traffic and just steps out in the road and gets hit by a car, the driver will often not be charged as the accident was the pedestrian's fault. If the driver should have reasonable avoided the collision but didn't, the he could be in a heap of trouble.

 

[ladyhawke]

There is no such thing as jaywalking in England... pedestrians always have right of way (so far as I am aware). Regardless of what the law says, this is always going to be the case anyway since nobody is going to be able to justify to themselves knocking down a pedestrian simply because they should not have been in the road.
That, however, would be against the law in England. A horn is there to alert other road users to your prescence so that they don't cause damage to you. It may not be used to shift other people out of your way or to let somebody else know that they just did something wrong/illegal.

YAH for England...just one reason to be glad i live here today

 

[Smoke]

What about parking lots? My grandfather is downright insane while driving in Wal-Mart parking lots and does NOT yield right of way to ANYONE. He's nearly hit mothers with children several times - despite my constant warnings, he won't change. It's downright unsettling.

Maybe he doesn't see them. The last few years of his life, my grandfather was a menace on the roads, largely because his eyesight was failing and he refused to admit it.

That, however, would be against the law in England. A horn is there to alert other road users to your prescence so that they don't cause damage to you. It may not be used to shift other people out of your way or to let somebody else know that they just did something wrong/illegal.

I'm glad that's not the law here; I'd be under the jail.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I'm glad that's not the law here; I'd be under the jail.

Not in the UK. They may have laws, but not consequenses.

 

[Scuba Pete]

You just have to run them over once for them to get the message.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

You just have to run them over once for them to get the message.

And mess up your car? That's why we call the passenger seat "shotgun." The passenger clears the street and the driver can safely keep both hands on the wheel.

I wouldn't run anyone over on purpose unless I had a cattle-gaurd on my truck.

 

[Booko]

There are some sections of metro ATL with pedestrian problems as well.:banghead3: As Booko, can attest, people will stroll across busy streets, in no big hurry and showing no regard to speeding cars. If you dare honk at the idiot, sometimes you get a look like you've done something wrong. BTW...Atlanta was ranked as one of the most unfriendly cities to pedestrians due to lack of and disrepair of sidewalks.:sorry1:

I cannot begin to tell you how many people have been hit and killed trying to cross Peachtree Industrial by Chamblee Plaza. There are pedestrian crosswalks and lights, but motorists in ATL have no regard for red lights. And yellow means, "Step on de gas and go!"

I have often thought of getting some 2-wheeled transportation to get to the basic grocery store and back, but as I do not have a death wish, I haven't done so. There is no safe route to get to a grocery store from my house since the Winn-Dixie a mile away closed. So I guess I'm kinda stuck adding to our smog alert days, at least until I retire to somewhere else.

 

[Booko]

There is no such thing as jaywalking in England... pedestrians always have right of way (so far as I am aware).

In most of the places in the UK where I drove, it was pretty clear that sheep and cattle had the right of way.

 

[ladyhawke]

In most of the places in the UK where I drove, it was pretty clear that sheep and cattle had the right of way.

yeah that just about covers us pedestrians.

 

[Scuba Pete]

And mess up your car?

How else would you score points???

 

[Quiddity]

Cars are easier to see then people. Hence, I GET THE RIGHT OF WAY....

 

[Bastet]

It's funny, I was having this very conversation with a customer yesterday (she was from out of town, and was commenting on our "city" drivers - even though our town is only slightly bigger than her own). I'm sure pedestrians used to have right of way at some point (I vaguely remember it from my childhood), but these days it's literally stamped on the sidewalk that pedestrians must give way to cars. We don't have any pedestrian crossings here in town that I can think of (some towns have implemented them in a bid to get cars to give way in the CBD), but we do have traffic lights mid-way down the two main streets that are specifically for pedestrians' use. Of course, most people will just jaywalk anyway - as long as you are not within 100m of traffic lights, the police won't book you for it.

As a pedestrian I get frustrated with the speed some people drive at in the CBD (the limit is reduced to 40km/hr, but many drive anywhere from 50-60). There are also a lot of pushy drivers since they changed the roads and made them bottleneck from double lanes into a single lane at the roundabouts. It was supposedly done to make the cars slow down and make it safer for pedestrians, but all it's done is make the traffic congested and the drivers more aggressive and cranky - and more likely to hit a pedestrian as a result. Brilliant bit of town planning, that one.

As a motorist I get frustrated with people walking out from between cars and dawdling while crossing the road as if they've got all the time in the world. If you're not gonna cross at the appropriate places, then at least have the decency to be quick about it! Especially mothers with children. Nothing quite like standing with your 4 kids in the centre of the road with cars streaming by on each side to teach them about road safety. :slap:

 

[Purple Thyme]

I think common sense plays into this and courtesy (some people don't show signs of having either) I live on a busy street that doesn't have many crosswalks. Our neighbors are all very friendly and we have a huge amount of children collectively. It amazes me how some of the children are not taught to respect the traffic. It also amazes me how motorist feel they can do 50 or more up a heavily populated street with children all around and speed limits posted. I have oftern stood on the side of the street with 4 or more small children waiting to cross and have watched motorist still flying down the street at over 50 mph without any regards to the kids. I had one motorist actually hug the side of the road and come within 2 feet of me and the kids. Wish I had got their licence plate number. Common sense and courtesy is needed on both sides.

 

[michel]

Do pedestrians have the right of way?

What is a pedestrian?

What about parking lots? My grandfather is downright insane while driving in Wal-Mart parking lots and does NOT yield right of way to ANYONE. He's nearly hit mothers with children several times - despite my constant warnings, he won't change. It's downright unsettling.

In Fort Worth, some people just stand out in the middle of the road and talk - there are no sidewalks in my nieghborhood. I usually coast down residential streets at about 5 mph at night with my brights on - for some of these folk I have to drive right up to them before they move. This doesn't really bother me in residential neighborhoods.

The only really irritating thing about pedestrians to me is when they wander around aimlessly in the street (especially multiple-lane roads) or just stand there.

I can't enter into legalities of the discussion, because I dare say your laws are different from ours.

*Shamelessly off topic, but to prove a point* The French are the ones who are so brilliant at confusion. For one, they drive on the wrong side of the road (as you do.......I can't understand why you all drive on the wrong side..........I would have thought you'd have learned by now.......

Anyway, back to my onions; the French have a wonderful rule that gives drivers joining any road from the right priority over other drivers. It's a wonderful system if the intent is to have everyone driving like a nervous wreck with a facial twitch........

Cyclists in England ought to conform to the law that applies to motorists, but they seldom do so. They have this amazing scitzophrenic ability to be motorists when it serves them, and then pedestrians the next minute.

Living as we do in a large town which is the home to many different nationalities of foreign students who come here to learn English (which they rarely do, seeking to spend as much time with friends of their own nationality as they can, thus obviating the opportunity to practise English), many of them use bicycles...............

which, if you lived here, you would soon realise is a source of entertainment and interest to us 'locals'. They neither know nor care about regulations; they will often ride on the wrong side of the road, take short cuts the wrong way around roundabouts, and generally make driving here an art which uses the chaos theory to try and predict other's behaviour.

But that is nothing compared to the one group that reign supreme :- those who ride invalid four wheel buggies.

The rules are (from: -http://www.youreable.com/TwoShare/getPage/07Equipment/01Advice/03Mobility/06Scooters/Choosing+a+scooter+or+buggy)

Choosing a scooter or buggy
The many types of powered vehicles currently available on the market are divided into three main categories: powered vehicles, scooters and buggies.
Legally these vehicles are divided into Class 2 and Class 3 vehicles.
Class 2 vehicles can travel up to 6.4kph (4mph) and are allowed on pavements and to cross over roads only.
Class 3 vehicles can travel up to 12.8 kph (8mph) and can be used on roads as well.

Now these people in England are a group who conform to no known laws; they seem to do nothing other than to follow their own whim.

My poor Father had one such buggy, and I quickly urged him (thinking of how many deaths he would be responsible for) to get third party liablily insurance (for which cost I had visions of being impossibly exorbitant). I was wrong. One company in particular specialise in insurance for such buggies.

The lady who gave me the quote obviously realised that I was dumstuck by the nominal sum. She then let me into a little secret.

Buggy drivers (often because of their age, may well have poor eyesight and poor hearing) apparently have guardian angels by the dozens delegated to them. They will shoot straight across a road, with no thought of traffic (or anyone except themselves), but they rarely have accidents.

Blissfully unaware of the sounding of horns, screetching of brakes, the sound of cars crashing into each other, they do not realise that every motorist will do anything to avoid a buggy. After all, these are senior citizens, who deserve respect.

There may be a wreck of half a dozen cars in the path that the buggy took, but the driver never realises how near he (or she) came to death. I understand that their guardian angels work in shifts, with overtime rates to boot.

 

[Bastet]

But that is nothing compared to the one group that reign supreme :- those who ride invalid four wheel buggies.

Blissfully unaware of the sounding of horns, screetching of brakes, the sound of cars crashing into each other, they do not realise that every motorist will do anything to avoid a buggy. After all, these are senior citizens, who deserve respect.

There may be a wreck of half a dozen cars in the path that the buggy took, but the driver never realises how near he (or she) came to death. I understand that their guardian angels work in shifts, with overtime rates to boot.

I nearly collected an old man in one last year. He just pulled right out in front of me to cross the road. He's lucky I was turning round a roundabout and happened to be going slowly enough to stop in time (I stopped within about 2 feet of him and he didn't even flinch - he was totally oblivious to both my car, and me yelling obscenities from within it). Meanwhile I was nearly T-barred from the left by another car heading onto the roundabout who hadn't been expecting me to stop so suddenly (who then chased me for a block in a fit of roadrage. That's the only time I've given another motorist the bird.). Fun it was not.