Close call for mother and child

[beardy]

I must say that as somebody who stops for pedestrians who are at or near the side of Zebra crossings and even refuges where the law doesnt compel me to do so, I have had less unnecessary stops from that action in the past ten years than I get in one day from cars failing to indicate left when approaching a traffic roundabout.

[kwackers]

And how is turning into the sideroad traffic to know you are going to step out in front of their heavy, moving, indicating vehicle and not walk down the sideroad?

Because obviously I'm not going to step out in front of a car that's already turning - but I will insist on crossing a road I was already crossing before the car arrived at the junction - much to the annoyance and irritation of most drivers.
(And god help anyone if it's a traffic light controlled junction with a green light for the car that wants to turn!)

[Postboxer]

On the video, can anyone tell where the woman comes from, is she walking along the path or waiting to cross, as she's away from the kerb, I can't make out whether she comes across the pavement from a property or somewhere, or whether she suddenly turns onto the crossing.

[kwackers]

On the video, can anyone tell where the woman comes from, is she walking along the path or waiting to cross, as she's away from the kerb, I can't make out whether she comes across the pavement from a property or somewhere, or whether she suddenly turns onto the crossing.

She looks to be stood on the pavement and then makes a decision to cross as the car approaches.

It looks like two conflicting presumptions. Her assumption that cars will stop and give way when she wants to cross and the drivers that he's under no obligation to do so.
(I'd be surprised if he even saw her until she stepped out - most drivers don't appear to take any notice of anything that isn't car shaped and directly in front of them).

[Psamathe]

She looks to be stood on the pavement and then makes a decision to cross as the car approaches.

Although the viedo starts a bit late, I would say she walks up and straight out into the road:

Untitled 1.jpg (9.73 KiB) Viewed 369 times

Untitled 2.jpg (7.6 KiB) Viewed 369 times

To me (and I'm not 100% sure), the first picture suggests she has been walking with her back to the car and has just started to turn towards the road round the light post.

From looking at the early section of the video frame by frame there is no suggestion she ever turns her face in the direction the car is coming from (i.e. she never looks to her right). Of course maybe she could see without turning or maybe she turned to look and turned back between frames.

Also, had she been waiting, she would probably have crossed the road sooner, close behind the white car in front - the white VW Beetle ? that had probably already crossed the zebra and is driving away (though there is a tuning I don't thing the white VW pulled out from it).

Ian

[[XAP]Bob]

That first frame looks like she has already turned, and the driver should be well aware that she is about to cross the road.

Of course he was more intent on overtaking the cyclist than paying attention to the road around...

[Postboxer]

I agree, they should have plenty of time to brake from picture 1. They're busy getting in front of the cyclist. Tunnel Vision.

[Psamathe]

I think we are assuming far more about the driver than there is evidence for.

My impression is that the woman/buggy marched up to the zebra and without looking just walked across (though I admit I have also made assumptions). With regard to the car driver it may easily be that (s)he just assumed the woman/buggy would stop (as most of the population would) - after-all that seems to be what the Highway Code says should happen.

That first frame looks like she has already turned, and the driver should be well aware that she is about to cross the road

Because she was turning does not mean she was about to march out in front of a moving vehicle. Many pedestrians would walk up to a zebra, stop before the kerb and look. So it is not unreasonable for the driver to expect this pedestrian to do the same.

I suppose the reason I am continuing in this is maybe partly because I feel there are two sides to everything and it is easy for cyclists to default to "blame the motorist" (I find myself doing it sometimes even though I am a motorist as well). And I do feel that the woman/buggy was beyond stupid whilst I can appreciate the driver (quite reasonably) not believing or expecting she would just step out in front on him/her.

Ian

[[XAP]Bob]

She may have looked just before the video, she might not have done.
I have a tendency to be quite assertive when crossing a sideroad or at a zebra, although less so where a cyclist is approaching - and a tendency as a motorist, more than I do as a cyclist, towards letting people cross.

As a parent I don't recall crossing the road with a buggy without checking multiple times. I do recall how irritating it is that in order to "be starting to cross" you have to effectively put the buggy in the road, and even with controlled crossings you tend to have to put the buggy n the road to get to the controls...

She *may* have looked and decided that she could go across in front of the cyclist and that as there was nothing coming the other way the car could simply stay right if it didn't want to stop...