General consensus at traffic lights vs pedestrians

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#1774974 3-May-2017 15:02

As I said, in Australia, it is the norm for cars to get past before the pedestrians got near.

Just wanted to know what the norm is in NZ; as I said, there are some intersections where cars can't turn (causing congestions spanning many lights back) because of pedestrians that take more than an entire traffic light period to cross.

So we are different from Australia I take it.

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#1774976 3-May-2017 15:04

richms:

That's what giving way means. Stop if they are in the way. If they want you to stop and wait till the green man goes out, there will be a red arrow on the turn. No red arrow and not going to hit someone, then you can go.

Well they are not in the way. THey are miles across on the other side of the road. Some (I don't judge whether they're able bodied or has a hidden disability) would be crawling across, not all, some walk at a reasonable pace.

Obviously at 99% (made up number) of intersections backed up traffic congestion is not a problem. But there are some that notoriously have traffic backed up for hundreds of metres thanks to one or two of these left turn crossings where no cars shall pass.

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#1774992 3-May-2017 15:32

Dairyxox:

Wow some terrible attitudes towards pedestrians are showing here.

There should never be an excuse to hit or even scare a pedestrian. People make mistakes, but drivers here commonly act like they own the whole road, everywhere, anytime. If you're driving a vehicle then its fully capable of being a deadly weapon, pedestrians do not have that power, so show some restraint and don't be c__ts.

This is one area where I think China does it right. Over there if you always have to give way to pedestrians, no matter what. And you better believe that drivers avoid all pedestrians like their lives depend on it. Over there if you do hit someone you have to pay for all the fallout (medical bills, loss of income etc).

Every man for himself and every man must follow the rules set for them. No one here would wish for someone to be struck by a car, but i have no sympathy for someone who puts themselves at risk by crossing at the last second or jay walking.
We are all pedestrians when not in a vehicle, When im a pedestrian i follow the rules. I have been hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing before and escaped unscathed fortunately.
Im not here to cater for idiots who dont follow basic give way rules with vehicles. A pedestrian must comprehend this and think to themselves, "if i run across this crossing at the last minute, I may be hit by a driver who is not expecting me to be there as he has the right of way." We all have places to be and if we all followed the basic rules of getting there we wouldn't have issues. But pedestrians rushing or drivers rushing causes accidents.

But hey, how many youtube videos do we see of people narrowly missing trains and other things with a physical barrier.

What about pedestrians crossing side roads? Who has the right of way?
I frequently drive down Lake Road into devonport. I may take a right or a left turn into a side street. Lake road is a narrow fast moving corridor when not gridlocked. Its hard for me to jump on the brakes and sit in the middle of the road waiting for a pedestrian to cross a side road because they didnt look or expected me to stop for them holding up traffic risking a nose to tail.

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#1775026 3-May-2017 16:00

Its an attitude thing.

Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, doesn't mean they're idiots.

Its only a minor inconvenience/delay for the driver, vs a life altering experience for the pedestrian.

Just be a bit patient.

As for side roads, etc, its pretty clearly spelled out in the road code.

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#1775029 3-May-2017 16:02

cadman:[snip]

although I tend to ignore red arrows unless there's a valid reason for them being there i.e. lack of visibility.

Really? Please don't drive anywhere near me if you do.

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#1775048 3-May-2017 16:16

TimA:

What about pedestrians crossing side roads? Who has the right of way?
I frequently drive down Lake Road into devonport. I may take a right or a left turn into a side street. Lake road is a narrow fast moving corridor when not gridlocked. Its hard for me to jump on the brakes and sit in the middle of the road waiting for a pedestrian to cross a side road because they didnt look or expected me to stop for them holding up traffic risking a nose to tail.

But how often to such side roads actually cater for pedestrians? Often they'll not have any pedestrian crossing on them, which forces pedestrians to take a gamble with the traffic. This is particularly the case with busy side roads, and something anyone with young kids (or elderly/disabled adults) will know too well. It can be difficult finding enough time to get across such roads safely as a sure-fitted adult - try doing it with kids in tow.

My experience is many drivers are fairly courteous to pedestrians, but there are still far too many idiots out there seemingly ok at risking injuring walkers - whether or not the drive is in the right, in the end the consequences of a driver's impatience are going to be worse for the pedestrian!

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#1775056 3-May-2017 16:35

jonathan18:

TimA:

What about pedestrians crossing side roads? Who has the right of way?
I frequently drive down Lake Road into devonport. I may take a right or a left turn into a side street. Lake road is a narrow fast moving corridor when not gridlocked. Its hard for me to jump on the brakes and sit in the middle of the road waiting for a pedestrian to cross a side road because they didnt look or expected me to stop for them holding up traffic risking a nose to tail.

But how often to such side roads actually cater for pedestrians? Often they'll not have any pedestrian crossing on them, which forces pedestrians to take a gamble with the traffic. This is particularly the case with busy side roads, and something anyone with young kids (or elderly/disabled adults) will know too well. It can be difficult finding enough time to get across such roads safely as a sure-fitted adult - try doing it with kids in tow.

My experience is many drivers are fairly courteous to pedestrians, but there are still far too many idiots out there seemingly ok at risking injuring walkers - whether or not the drive is in the right, in the end the consequences of a driver's impatience are going to be worse for the pedestrian!

Yep, Usually just a little ramp up onto the curb and thats it.
In these cases the vehicle would have right of way but given not everyone can anticipate a vehicle turning or a pedestrian crossing. I feel its more of a first in first served basis.
The thing that gets me is when people bolt in front of your car when your looking right waiting for a gap.
Had a pedestrian cross my trailer draw bar once too while taking off and they came for a 50M ride hahaha.

RunningMan:

cadman:[snip]

although I tend to ignore red arrows unless there's a valid reason for them being there i.e. lack of visibility.

Really? Please don't drive anywhere near me if you do.

Do you mean you ignore left hand turn red arrows if your path is clear or all arrows in general. I do NOT condone running red lights of ANY nature.
If it was a give way intersection it wouldn't have lights.

Dairyxox:

Its an attitude thing.

Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, doesn't mean they're idiots.

Its only a minor inconvenience/delay for the driver, vs a life altering experience for the pedestrian.

Just be a bit patient.

As for side roads, etc, its pretty clearly spelled out in the road code.

Mistake or risk taken people need to be aware of what their surroundings are and the consequences of that. Vehicles can only be so cautious.

It takes time for them to stop, They need to pay attention to more than one thing, Speed, Other cars, pedestrians, traffic lights, road surface condition, markings. The list goes on. A walker just needs to watch where they are going so they dont get hit and pay attention to the signage set out for them! How hard can that be?

I agree with you on your point, mistakes happen and i cater for those people who may not be paying attention.
I'm referring to the risk takers as idiots, The ones who are running from the bus stop to get the end of the flashing man, The ones that see the gap so they bolt across the road in front of you or misjudge your speed. Well those are Jay Walkers and thats a different story.

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gsr

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#1775060 3-May-2017 16:42

Dairyxox:

Its an attitude thing.

Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, doesn't mean they're idiots.

Its only a minor inconvenience/delay for the driver, vs a life altering experience for the pedestrian.

Just be a bit patient.

Having a relaxed attitude towards road rules is indeed not a good attitude. It is dangerous, an can be a life altering experience for a pedestrian. So they should be patient and pay attention to the signal before crossing.

Coil

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#1775062 3-May-2017 16:46

gsr:

Dairyxox:

Its an attitude thing.

Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, doesn't mean they're idiots.

Its only a minor inconvenience/delay for the driver, vs a life altering experience for the pedestrian.

Just be a bit patient.

Having a relaxed attitude towards road rules is indeed not a good attitude. It is dangerous, an can be a life altering experience for a pedestrian. So they should be patient and pay attention to the signal before crossing.

And the fact they come off worse should be a reinforcement to a pedestrian that they should be looking out for themselves and not expecting people to be looking out for them.

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#1775083 3-May-2017 17:30

Straying off topic a little: with the amount of people I've seen here in Wellington that have simply walked straight across streets without looking, in front of turning cars, I'm amazed so few get bowled!! I think it's (generally) the pedestrians here who have the bad attitudes when it comes to crossing roads.

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#1775085 3-May-2017 17:35

joker97:

As I said, in Australia, it is the norm for cars to get past before the pedestrians got near.

Just wanted to know what the norm is in NZ; as I said, there are some intersections where cars can't turn (causing congestions spanning many lights back) because of pedestrians that take more than an entire traffic light period to cross.

So we are different from Australia I take it.

Yes we are different. When pedestrians are grossing on the little green man you must give way to them anywhere on the crossing...exactly the same rules for a pedestrian crossing.

Note: "Give way" means let them go first, once they have crossed in front of you, you may then carry on so if you are turning left and they cross from your side of the street, once they get across your lane you can go. Same as for a Pedestrian Crossing.

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#1775090 3-May-2017 17:44

mdooher:

joker97:

As I said, in Australia, it is the norm for cars to get past before the pedestrians got near.

Just wanted to know what the norm is in NZ; as I said, there are some intersections where cars can't turn (causing congestions spanning many lights back) because of pedestrians that take more than an entire traffic light period to cross.

So we are different from Australia I take it.

Yes we are different. When pedestrians are grossing on the little green man you must give way to them anywhere on the crossing...exactly the same rules for a pedestrian crossing.

Note: "Give way" means let them go first, once they have crossed in front of you, you may then carry on so if you are turning left and they cross from your side of the street, once they get across your lane you can go. Same as for a Pedestrian Crossing.

I have always waited, even in Australia, even in Asia! Cars behind - not so friendly towards me though. I didn't think the pedestrians cared either way over there.

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#1775091 3-May-2017 17:49

mdooher:

joker97:

As I said, in Australia, it is the norm for cars to get past before the pedestrians got near.

Just wanted to know what the norm is in NZ; as I said, there are some intersections where cars can't turn (causing congestions spanning many lights back) because of pedestrians that take more than an entire traffic light period to cross.

So we are different from Australia I take it.

Yes we are different. When pedestrians are grossing on the little green man you must give way to them anywhere on the crossing...exactly the same rules for a pedestrian crossing.

Note: "Give way" means let them go first, once they have crossed in front of you, you may then carry on so if you are turning left and they cross from your side of the street, once they get across your lane you can go. Same as for a Pedestrian Crossing.

Pedestrian crossings only allow this if it is separated by an island in the middle.
Even still i apply the clear crossing rule to both flows of traffic as you just freak out people who have little understanding of the rode code, They deserve to be freaked out to learn but you just get dirty looks.

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#1775092 3-May-2017 17:50

gsr:

Having a relaxed attitude towards road rules is indeed not a good attitude. It is dangerous, an can be a life altering experience for a pedestrian. So they should be patient and pay attention to the signal before crossing.

TimA:

And the fact they come off worse should be a reinforcement to a pedestrian that they should be looking out for themselves and not expecting people to be looking out for them.

Come on guys, if you are in a car and you hit a pedestrian, you will most likely really hurt that person. This will leave you feeling like utter crap, regardless of whose fault it is. Far better to be extra alert and, if necessary, go out of your way to avoid such collisions regardless of the road rules. I doubt either of you are the disturbed kind of person who takes pleasure in seeing someone else get ‘what they deserve’ when what they get may mean spending the rest of their life as a quadriplegic. People make mistakes. Or they are just dumb. Or they are arrogant jerks. So what? You don’t have to plough into them to make some kind of point.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

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#1775094 3-May-2017 18:01

Rikkitic:

gsr:

Having a relaxed attitude towards road rules is indeed not a good attitude. It is dangerous, an can be a life altering experience for a pedestrian. So they should be patient and pay attention to the signal before crossing.

TimA:

And the fact they come off worse should be a reinforcement to a pedestrian that they should be looking out for themselves and not expecting people to be looking out for them.

Come on guys, if you are in a car and you hit a pedestrian, you will most likely really hurt that person. This will leave you feeling like utter crap, regardless of whose fault it is. Far better to be extra alert and, if necessary, go out of your way to avoid such collisions regardless of the road rules. I doubt either of you are the disturbed kind of person who takes pleasure in seeing someone else get ‘what they deserve’ when what they get may mean spending the rest of their life as a quadriplegic. People make mistakes. Or they are just dumb. Or they are arrogant jerks. So what? You don’t have to plough into them to make some kind of point.

Yep i completely agree and no one is implying that, The fact is that i could risk my life or safety because of some else negligence, I could be turning into a road and a pedestrian decides to run out in front of me and i avoid them and hit a power pole. It happened to my friend and now he has fine motor skill issues and cant talk properly and cant remember our names or his mothers.

People need to understand their responsibility and ad hear to it. The hypothetical outcomes for every situation can be discussed till the cows come home.

The point i want to make clear is not that people deserve to be hit. But its a level playing field, We all do our utmost to not injure another person. What goes for you goes for me.

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