The Pedestrian is King?

[Electric_Andy]

Do you always buy your bread at the Butchers?

This particular Butcher supplies Butchery and Bread

 

[akb]

All part and parcel of commuting in a busy urban environment, I'm afraid. FWIW, if I was on foot, I doubt I would go 500ft the wrong way to use a crossing and then come 500ft back to get to where I started again. It's human nature to take shortcuts.

....Especially in London.

 

[glenn forger]

No, the pedestrian isn't king and queen, cyclists are, naturally, and we must treat our subjects indulgently and respectfully, even when they wander aimlessly around in the road eating a Danish and shouting "I'm eating a Danish!" into a mobile phone.

 

[ComedyPilot]

If you can't safely pass the peds on a bike, then the cars, taxis and buses behind you have no chance and will have to wait.

Peds are the most vulnerable as they are the slowest (and are thick as 2 short planks ) so you should let them cross.

No point getting all het up about it.......

 

[Matthew_T]

I had a woman walk out infront of me when I was doing 20mph today. She didnt even bother looking, just had her head down.
As I passed, I said "Please look".

That was it. There was no need to swear or shout, and I didnt really have to slow down. Just give advice to peds and you might be surprised (they are usually quite good in summer).

 

[Davidsw8]

Was even worse on the way home, just gonna have to put it down to it being Wan'kr Wednesday and hope tomorrow is better.

There's nothing you can say, good or bad to some people, they simply believe that they won't get hit no matter what they do - and then they do and the cyclist/motorist gets the full blame whatever the circumstances.

 

[snorri]

I get a warm glow inside when I see an elderly lady or gent raise their walking stick to the horizontal and shuffle across the road with a clear path appearing in the traffic ahead of them like that biblical guy who parted the waters somewhere long ago.

 

[Dan B]

Well, I don't think I've ever collided with someone and injured them while I was walking, no matter how erratically they were behaving. Why should vehicle users be held to a lower standard?

 

[J.Primus]

Well, I don't think I've ever collided with someone and injured them while I was walking, no matter how erratically they were behaving. Why should vehicle users be held to a lower standard?

I've had someone come sprinting out of a door and straight into me when I was walking down a footpath. He landed straight on his bottom. Not really an injury but still. That said if I was an articulated lorry he'd have been knackered.

 

[Sandra6]

I really don't understand people crossing roads without looking, and pedestrians in the road drive me mad, but in their defence they are listening for cars and cyclists are generally very quiet - except when swearing at motorists obviously.
Also, there is something in the highway code about pedestrians having right of way on side streets when a car/cyclist is turning into that road and they are crossing it.
That said I generally shout at them about looking where they're going and being grateful I'm not a truck.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

It's people not pedestrians or whatever, same with RLJ cyclists, the dope that overtakes you then immediately left turns etc. everyone and their errand or journey is clearly more important than anyone else and theirs, this automatically gives them right of way and if you don't know that then the problem is yours not theirs.

its a sad outlook on life but if you expect everyone on the move to be congenitally stupid, half asleep and having a really bad day you'll not go far wrong.
The ones that exceed your low expectation give you a boost and the ones that do aren't a surprise or disappopintment anymore.

 

[Dan B]

It's people not pedestrians or whatever, same with RLJ cyclists, the dope that overtakes you then immediately left turns etc. everyone and their errand or journey is clearly more important than anyone else and theirs, this automatically gives them right of way and if you don't know that then the problem is yours not theirs.

Agree 100%, it's a very bad attitude which all too many vehicle users seem to adopt whenever there's a pedestrian in 'their' road. It's a public space, you should expect the public to be there

 

[PedalCat]

Also, there is something in the highway code about pedestrians having right of way on side streets when a car/cyclist is turning into that road and they are crossing it.

Stands to reason when you think about it; the alternative would be that pedestrians should run to the pavement if a vehicles turns into the road that they are crossing! It's actually an amusing image, but one that sadly, some drivers see as appropriate.

 

[Davidsw8]

I really don't understand people crossing roads without looking, and pedestrians in the road drive me mad, but in their defence they are listening for cars and cyclists are generally very quiet - except when swearing at motorists obviously.
Also, there is something in the highway code about pedestrians having right of way on side streets when a car/cyclist is turning into that road and they are crossing it.
That said I generally shout at them about looking where they're going and being grateful I'm not a truck.

People are very prone to crossing with their ears, the trouble is going to come with the increase in the popularity of electric cars. My partner test drove an electric Smart car a couple of months ago, it was totally silent. I think I make more noise huffing away on my Brompton . Unless they're going to add an artificial noise to these cars, people will be busy texting, not hear anything then get slammed into by one of these as they step off the kerb...

 

[BentMikey]