Pedestrians and their priorities
Pedestrians will now have priority when crossing the road at a junction.
Motorists will have to let them cross if they see them waiting, even if it slows down your journey.
We've always followed the so-called new rule because so many dimwits walk across our street junction without looking. Sometimes they are not even playing with their mobile phones. They stroll across with not even a slight turn of the head to check the traffic behind them. Completely oblivious.
Over the years we've prevented many serious injuries that way. Plus a few broken mobiles. It would always have been our fault though. Motorists know that.
13 comments:
It's always a hoot to stop suddenly on a major-to-minor road turning, so some dimwit can waddle across the side road. Watching the pile-up in the rear-view mirror is fun (unless it arrives at the bumper).
I see that Meatloaf has just died. Was it something I said?
I don't drive, though I did take lessons some years ago. My instructor told me to always give way to pedestrians crossing at junctions. I said that it's obviously the law, his reply was that it isn't law it's just sensible to slow down and be aware that pedestrians may walk into my path. We now need laws like this because sensible is something we don't do these days but is it a sensible law?
I passed my test nearly 70 years ago. At that time the new rule of priority for pedestrians was in force, I remember it nearly made me fail my test.
I seem to remember Rule 128 in the 1950's Highway Code. Does anyone have an old copy?
Ed - it's certainly a hoot when they step onto the road then remember to look round.
Tammly - that would be real power.
Andy - good point, the modern world seems to think that given enough laws it can do without sensible.
DAD - I bet you can get hold of a copy online. Could be an interesting read.
What constitutes a junction?
Is a fork in a road a junction? So you signal left, you are in left filter lane, followed by all like minded drivers. A predestrian, granted immunity from the laws of physics, steps out.
Is a roundabout not just a series of junctions? So a similar pedestrian steps out onto the exit road of a roundabout.
There must be lots of other anomalies.
I found it!
https://normandyhistorians.co.uk/car.html#anchor661959
The Highway code 1959 edition - price 6d.
RULE 26. "When turning at a road junction, give way to pedestrians".
This is confirmed as RULE 47 in the 1968 edition (1s 3d)
https://normandyhistorians.co.uk/hwc/1968hwc/index.html
That's the pedestrians sorted. Now for the cyclists. Motorists have to stay 1.5m away when overtaking a cyclist. Does a cyclist have to give 1.5m clearance when over (or under) taking a stationary vehicle? What sort of vehicle has a 1.5m long wing mirror to be knocked off by the cyclist?
Doonhamer - yes there must be loads of anomalies. I'm sure the aim is just part of the squeeze on motoring rather than road safety.
DAD - well done, so it has been a rule forever. Now they just want to attach a fine to it as a gift to anti-car nuts.
Penseivat - the annoying one is when they undertake a line of traffic waiting at the lights for single lane roadworks. Then they nip off ahead of the traffic which can't overtake until they exit the coned off stretch. We've seen this a number of times recently.
Came to this a bit late but DAD is quite correct. I passed my test in 1968 and remember that rule about pedestrians at junctions. Important when the test was a seaside town and an oft used testroute was along the seafront with multiple turn offs and loads of tourists on foot!
Mind you back then everyone had been subjected to road safety lessons while of school age to stay on the pavement and never walk out into traffic. So essentially it worked by making drivers look out for pedestrians while they looked for cars, so forced an interaction and eye contact between driver and pedestrian.
Woodsy - it's as if they went through the rules and decided to make some of them laws as part of the endless quest to make motoring less convenient.
Wondering whether this rule applies even when there's a pedestrian signal and it's showing a red "stop".
Guessing it does, as the motorist is always wrong anyway.
Anon - good point and I guess you are right, the motorist is always wrong. They should put that on the cover.
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