Cars having to wait for pedestrians to cross new rules .

Interesting tnis. Yesterday I was driving along a main city road and a lady was standing on the small middle island. I decided to stop. She gave me an irritated\impatient carry on indication and the car behind hooted. Good start to my interpretation of the new rules.

Confusion could lead to accidents. If you pull up to let someone cross the car behind could run into you.
Will some pedestrians step out into the road expecting cars to stop.
The only way it can work is if everyone understands the new rules properly and not just their own interpretation of them.

We visited my (nutty) aunt in Canada and she kept insisting pedestrians have the right of way. I just managed to pull her back as she stepped out in front of a huge lorry. The cab was so high that the driver couldn’t see her.

Kim is it not at a junction?
I'm concerned that if you turn into a side road and a pedestrian is going to cross so you stop, the car behind might not see the pedestrian and bump into you.

I think there’s going to be a lot of rear ending as a car starts to turn, has to come to a halt with its rear sticking out into the main carriageway with the car behind maintaining its speed, thinking the way ahead will be cleared by the time it gets to the junction.

Or the car behind having to brake unexpectedly to avoid the turning car.

Thanks E1. May well be. I'll check that out. Ifso,

If so, a misunderstanding on my part.

My grandma used to wave her white stick, after she became partially blind, and leap out into the road expecting cars to stop. When my mother warned her she would get run over she retorted “then you’ll be able to say ‘I told her so’.”

We actual had a car stop for us today! We hadn’t stepped into the road but we were waiting to cross. The chance of them being rear ended was slim as they were going so slowly and it was just after a zebra crossing, but we as pedestrians were pleasantly surprised as it can be a bit of a bugger to cross at that particular junction.

I understood The Highway Code has always stated that you must give way to pedestrians in the road into which you are turning. If you do this and someone hits your car from behind, they are travelling too close. Turning into a road is surely done at a speed where you can stop fairly quickly.

AGAA4 The only way it can work is if everyone understands the new rules properly
And that will never happen. Half the drivers will carry on as before and the other half will abide by the new rules. There's that old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it and how true that is for so many things.

I agree with that Chestnut. Except that possibly more than half won't bother with the new rules.

Rosina

I understood The Highway Code has always stated that you must give way to pedestrians in the road into which you are turning. If you do this and someone hits your car from behind, they are travelling too close. Turning into a road is surely done at a speed where you can stop fairly quickly.

Well yes, of course you’d give way to a pedestrian that was in the road. I mean you wouldn’t plough through them, would you?

I think a pedestrian standing on the pavement is different though. The road is clear but the driver has to stop in case the pedestrian decides to cross. That’s bound to lead to greater traffic congestion and pollution as the traffic will have to stop and start many times instead of continuing to flow.

F course the following driver shouldn’t be following too closely, but believe me, knowing it’s the other persons fault is small comfort when you’re the one that’s been rear ended?

rosina yes I was going slowly enough to stop to avoid hitting a pedestrian who had chanced it. The car behind was obviously going as slowly as me but still bumped into me.
The pedestrian held up her hand in apology and disappeared leaving us to get on with it.

A van kindly stopped at a pedestrian crossing for me last week. Unfortunately I thought I should cross quickly, tripped and fell, holding up the traffic even longer. Now they're going to stop at junctions!!! Oh Dear!!!