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Posted By Dean Stevens
Hi all,
In our town in the last 6 months to a year there have been several pedestrian crossing points put in that do nothing but cause near misses and confusion.
These crossing points are not what you would normally expect to see, it is not a zebra crossing or a pelican crossing, just a strip of red tarmac laid across the road with dipped kerbs at each end, it also contains the cobbled paving stones for the blind and bollards located on the pavement. There is no traffic lighting or signage near these points.
Now i know that pedestrians have right of way as per highway code so when approaching these points i slow down and am prepared to stop if anyone is going to cross. The amount of times I've seen cars having to brake late, cars driving straight over, pedestrians having to jump out of the road, cyclists whizzing across etc is frightening, the roads are quite busy as well so this increases the risk of an accident occurring.
Do any of you have these in your town and if so do you have the same problems?
Should the implementation of these new type of crossing have been communicated better before they were put in use?
Should i report my concerns to the local council?
Thanks in advance.
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Rank: Guest
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Posted By sylvia
These are not pedestrian crossings.
See Highway Code for the types in existence - Zebra, Pelicon, (or Pelican if you prefer), Puffin (may not be mentioned as it's not that obviously different to Pelicon to users, Toucan, and Pegasus. The last two again - only different in that they are designed to be used by cyclists and / or horse riders as well - but to drivers look the same.
These road pads you describe create confusion, and the more drivers do dither about or stop to allow pedestrians to cross - as distinct from avoiding pedestrians who are already in the road which is the "priority" to which you refer - the more confusion will reign.
By all means complain to your Council and ask for a safety audit. They should either put in a proper crossing which everyone can understand, or save the money and keep it simple. If they want to slow down vehicles, then use an appropriate pad, hump or cushion. But don't combine it with pedestrian-friendly "crossing here is a good idea" kinds of furniture, which is what it sounds like.
By keeping your vehicle moving purposefully but observantly, you will avoid confusion and also any pedestrians who do make the decision to cross. Please avoid making that decision for them, which would be quite correct at a zebra crossing but leads to the problems you speak of at "non ped xings" which this is.
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