You be the judge: driving without due care, or holding up traffic.

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › You be the judge: driving without due care, or holding up traffic.

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surfisup1000

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#1896867 7-Nov-2017 15:10

"Although not official pedestrian crossings, they do provide a place for pedestrians to cross. Drivers should be courteous to pedestrians using a courtesy crossing."

In other words, confusing as heck. Either it should be a pedestrian crossing or not!

Oblivian

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#1896876 7-Nov-2017 15:22

surfisup1000:

"Although not official pedestrian crossings, they do provide a place for pedestrians to cross. Drivers should be courteous to pedestrians using a courtesy crossing."

In other words, confusing as heck. Either it should be a pedestrian crossing or not!

Biggest issue is Pedestrians who don't know the difference and walk on out on you.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/72548191/Blenheim-courtesy-crossings-cause-confusion

Linux

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#1896879 7-Nov-2017 15:36

Years ago I had a lady in Browns Bay step out in front of my car onto the road not on a legal crossing but cobble stone paved part of the road, She screamed at me as I parked my car and went off her tree, I let her have it and told her she was a stupid cow or something and what a legal crossing looked like and pointed to one further down the road,

She then stormed off to the police station down the road and demanded I go with her so I did, Told her a few times what an idiot she was as I walked down the road

In the police station we both told our sides of the storires that matched up and the police officer made it very clear she was in the wrong and what a legal crossing looks like,

Then she tried to tell them I was speeding or some rubbish

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E3xtc

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#1896942 7-Nov-2017 16:14

The biggest issue I have with that situation is that IF she had started to cross AND that person also overtook you, the outcome could be very dire indeed...and in that case, yes your intentions were admirable, and yes the intentions of the other driver were potentially legitimate too (as they may not have seen the child standing there and have no idea of your intentions). Just because someone else doesn't do as you expect it doesn't make them an ass.

Hence why I fall back to, its not a crossing, so a car shouldn't stop.

cruxis

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#1896954 7-Nov-2017 16:38

Its clearly on no stopping area for you and the oncoming car. Try to stick to the road rules as your good intentions created a hazard. As long as the Silver Toyota Wagon went past slowly I think it was fine.

I have seen good intentions cause accidents, a common one in chch is drivers leaving a gap for a right turning car and a cyclist gets wiped out coming up the inside lane because the right turning car takes the gap without a clear line of sight.

dt

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#1896956 7-Nov-2017 16:42

Kudos to you for trying to do the right thing, hopefully the young girl arrived home safely.

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kingdragonfly

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#1897024 7-Nov-2017 18:15

I've notified the school of the close call.

I told them the student showed good sense by not walking into traffic.

I suggested they make some changes to prevent a future mishap

- crossing guard(s)

- or official zebra crossing

- or some kind of traffic light

...

dfnt

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#1897051 7-Nov-2017 18:39

- or some kind of traffic light

...

Because Wellington doesn't have enough traffic lights as it is :p

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BlinkyBill

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#1897055 7-Nov-2017 18:41

Gosh it is so dangerous to stop where you did. You injected doubt into everyone’s mind by not following the road rules. Imagine if that small child had crossed and been killed or injured, how could you live with yourself?

kingdragonfly

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#1897089 7-Nov-2017 19:14

How can you live with yourself with such cavalier attitude toward a young girl's life?

Perhaps you should leave the room, and let the adults talk now.

nickb800

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#1897114 7-Nov-2017 19:48

Courtesy crossing are an arse - just like so much of road safety design these days: creating ambiguity to encourage motorists to make them slow down.

My argument for not stopping at a courtesy crossing (or any non-pedestrian crossing point in the road) to let a pedestrian stop is that following motorists may not perceive what is going on (your car is likely to block the following motorist's sight lines to the pedestrian) and you can therefore create an even greater hazard by encouraging the pedestrian to step out on the road, and (unintentionally) encouraging the following motorist to overtake. Could quite easily lead to a situation where the overtaking vehicle bowls the pedestrian, rather than the pedestrian waiting for a gap. The following driver would be 100% legally responsible, but you've arguably created the situation.

My approach is to slow down and be cautious, particularly if it's a kid that may run out without warning, but don't stop.

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