Narrow miss. Bus and student on his mobile

jenpax

Yes drivers should be extra vigilant around schools but if these teenagers are this laissez faire about road safety what are they like in their free time!

Outside school is during their free time.

I find it useful to remind myself that we are self-glorifying, noisy apes. As MrB, a zoologist by training, always says: human kids have a death wish; no animal that isn't a top predator would behave with so little regard to safety.

That still counts, I think, even in our current age of excessive safetyism.

jenpax

The worst are the entitled teenagers outside DGS1 secondary school! These kids literally just step off the kerb without even a pretence of checking for cars! How there are not daily accidents is a mystery to me. The boys are the worst but not by much! There are two single sex schools next to each. I watch in horror every morning as these idiots go to school!

I worked in a secondary school where a very bright 15 year old suddenly walked into the road yards from a zebra crossing and was hit by a car driving within the speed limit. She was severely brain damaged, in a wheelchair and will never improve. I often feel like telling the teenagers at my local school (who cross wherever they want) about her.

Spuddy Love your idea of planet earth being used as lunatic asylum.

In my town

I’m my town there is a large M&S store on a corner. The main exit is on the corner where one lane of traffic leaves the Westbound main road, goes round the corner and heads South. While I was waiting for the pedestrian crossing light to go green a toddler on a mini scooter shot out of the store, straight across the pavement and over the crossing still on red. Nothing turning off the main road would have been able to stop if they even saw him. That he didn’t crash into a pedestrian or a car was a miracle in such a crowded area. His mum/‘carer’ with phone in hand was twelve paces behind with an older pre-school child also on a scooter. When they exited the store she didn’t even look surprised to see where the little one had ended up, just called over to him to stay where he was. I am always being shocked at so many mothers paying no attention to what their children are saying or doing or even where they are.

Yes drivers should be extra vigilant around schools but if these teenagers are this laissez faire about road safety what are they like in their free time!

Don't waste your time trying to make students who are all adults listen to you either about not wandering around in traffic glued to their mobile phone screens or riding bikes without lights and in dark clothing.

Petition your MPs and Chief Constables to have it made illegal to walk on public thoroughfares wearing head-phones and looking at phones, and to ride bikes everywhere not only without lights after dark, which is already a legal requirement, but also without flurescent traffic vests or jackets after dusk and before daylight - and add bike helmets to the list.

This should be less of a waste of your time than talking to the age group being so stupid.

And the penalty for riding bikes without flourescent clothing, helmet and lights after dark shoul be immediate confiscation of the bike by the police who pass the offender, not a fine.

Confiscating mobile phones from those risking their own and others safety in traffic might just stop this senseless behaviour too.

And these unfortunate events do happen in other countries too.

No, we’re not a third world country.

Why do people have to hear music in their ears all the time? In shops I see peopke wandering about talking to themselves, it takes a minute to realise that they're speaking on the phone. Another is people walking dogs on extending leads with earpods in and let their dog wander into the road. Is their thinking oh someone will stop if he goes in front of them. SPUDDY, I love your reply and will remember it and use it often.

I was nearly run over when I stopped to cross a road and was pushed into the road by a man, 40ish, who was absorbed in his mobile. Luckily I was not hit, but a driver did brake sharply when he saw me. The man was apologetic. Unfortunately I was too shocked to think of an appropriate remark at the time.

We are a Third World country now where life is cheap. People don't take responsibility for their own health or life.

Sorry, forgot to say she had earphones in

A young girl walked straight out from under flyover into my car. Smashed the windscreen then fell over and cracked her head on the pavement. She was ok but taken to hospital with concussion i think. Police exonerated me but i had to stop driving shortly after. Scared me, and always thought i could have killed her.

There used to be an advert on TV which showed "toddler crossing the road" and you would hear traffic noise, then "elderly person crossing the road" and again, traffic noise, then "teenager crossing the road" with loud music blasting in their ears! Making a point of who really needs to be careful!

*braking

!

jenpax

The worst are the entitled teenagers outside DGS1 secondary school! These kids literally just step off the kerb without even a pretence of checking for cars! How there are not daily accidents is a mystery to me. The boys are the worst but not by much! There are two single sex schools next to each. I watch in horror every morning as these idiots go to school!

School closing times are obvious times for traffic to either go extra slow or be extra alert, preferably both This is why there are school warning signs.

We all know kids can be scatty and not fully aware of what's going on around them so we (drivers) should adapt our behaviour in such situations.

HelterSkelter1

The big problem now Baggs is that even if you blast your horn, they wouldn't hear. As the young man this morning didn't. And just continued to amble across the road when the lights were green. Completely oblivious.

I didn't blast my horn. Too busy breaking and scared as hell!

The worst are the entitled teenagers outside DGS1 secondary school! These kids literally just step off the kerb without even a pretence of checking for cars! How there are not daily accidents is a mystery to me. The boys are the worst but not by much! There are two single sex schools next to each. I watch in horror every morning as these idiots go to school!

DD2 is a wheelchair user and often has to shout ‘look out’ to someone approaching (on the same course) her, with their heads buried in a mobile phone. She’s actually had someone land in her knee, when they have neither seen nor heard her! Sometimes, she can’t get out of their way and just stops and waits to see what happens!

The big problem now Baggs is that even if you blast your horn, they wouldn't hear. As the young man this morning didn't. And just continued to amble across the road when the lights were green. Completely oblivious.

This kind of thing happened before mobile phones. The only time I've had to do an emergency stop was when a young man sauntered out from behind the bus he'd just alighted from and walked straight into the path of traffic coming the other way on the road. My kids were in the back of the car, fortunately well strapped in and fortunately I wasn't going fast. I missed him by an inch! He stopped and stared when the car stopped. I stared back and raised my hands.

I expect he learned that lesson. I also learned to 'expect' distracted walkers who'd just got off buses.

The thing is I can’t ever see an end to the situations described on here.
Mobile phones are here to stay of course along with certain sectors of the population being completely obsessed with them.

I’m sure we all have similar tales of near misses we have witnessed.

I have no idea what the answer is.

A couple of times someone walked out in front of us the other week.

Is it that they are in their own little world, oblivious, or are they assuming the new rights of pedestrians means they don't have to look and take care?

I am constantly feel admiration for our bus drivers in Brighton. They remain friendly and pleasant despite the many difficult passengers within the bus and the many near accidents I've witnessed from the bus.. and the summer season isn't here yet!!