Why don't people know to stop at crosswalks?!

[Anonymous]

I grew up in England where we called them zebra crossings. If you are standing there waiting the cars have to stop, it’s the law. So it’s very easy to cross the road there. We live in moco and have a crosswalk here to get to our local library and we literally have to wait until no cars are coming because everyone just drives on thru.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in England where we called them zebra crossings. If you are standing there waiting the cars have to stop, it’s the law. So it’s very easy to cross the road there. We live in moco and have a crosswalk here to get to our local library and we literally have to wait until no cars are coming because everyone just drives on thru.

Well the law here is that if you are waiting on the side of the road, cars do not stop. If that intersection is so busy you should raise it with the county to install a light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in England where we called them zebra crossings. If you are standing there waiting the cars have to stop, it’s the law. So it’s very easy to cross the road there. We live in moco and have a crosswalk here to get to our local library and we literally have to wait until no cars are coming because everyone just drives on thru.

Aww how cute, you grew up in England.

Yeah, its the law here for them to also stop. But American drivers don't really care about the law.

[Anonymous]

They put bus stops right at the edge of crosswalks so there is zero way to tell if they are waiting for a bus or starting to walk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They put bus stops right at the edge of crosswalks so there is zero way to tell if they are waiting for a bus or starting to walk.

Not true at all. Here's you can tell:

1. Stop.
2. See what they do next. If they start to cross, they were starting to cross! If they don't start to cross, they were waiting for a bus.

[Anonymous]

They know, they just don't care. Dollars to donuts Nina Larson's murderer was texting, btw.

[Anonymous]

I think some drivers don't understand how aggressive it is to drive into the crosswalk while people are crossing. IDGAF if you intended to come to a stop 3" away from me. Would you be OK if I shot a bullet 3" above your head? Don't worry bro I wasn't going to shoot you.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been ranting about this for years. I think right- turn-on-red changed things, along with the influx of transplants from other areas and a shift from people mostly driving cars to mostly driving suvs. Before right-turn-on-red, cars pretty much stopped at lights and stop signs, and noticed pedestrians crossing. With r-t-o-r, many drivers don’t even pause at the crosswalks, let alone fully stop. I think many drivers just drive as though they always have the right of way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been ranting about this for years. I think right- turn-on-red changed things, along with the influx of transplants from other areas and a shift from people mostly driving cars to mostly driving suvs. Before right-turn-on-red, cars pretty much stopped at lights and stop signs, and noticed pedestrians crossing. With r-t-o-r, many drivers don’t even pause at the crosswalks, let alone fully stop. I think many drivers just drive as though they always have the right of way.

For right turns, most drivers now treat stop signs and red lights as yield signs. Which also means the drivers have their head/eyes turned to the left (looking for oncoming cars) while they're turning right, which means they don't see the pedestrians crossing to the right of them.

[Anonymous]

If I were to rule the world, we'd have to renew our drivers license every 5 years. Part of the process would be a one-week break when you are not allowed to drive. In fact, you are required to walk at least one hour per day but only along the streets and sidewalks (no trails, no treadmills).

I truly believe that a big part of our pedestrian safety issues come from the fact that most people who drive rarely have to get around on foot. This system may also result in broad public pressure to improve pedestrian facilities such as more sidewalks and road crossing technologies (e.g, on-demand signals)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cars are not required to stop at crosswalks if they have a green light.

This isn't true, at least in D.C.: https://code.dccouncil.us/us/dc/council/code/sections/50-2201.28.html

Though the way people drive around here, I'm not surprised to see someone believes it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a driver, pedestrian, and cyclist in the District, I strongly believe that the city needs to make every crosswalk either at a stoplight or a HAWK signal (push button with signs that light up when a pedestrian is crossing).

I think HAWK signals would make a HUGE difference in this city. We have so many crosswalks that go across Georgia Ave, Columbia Road, MacArthur Blvd, etc that are not connected to street lights but where drivers go FAST.

More HAWK signals please. Ideally at every intersection in the city with a crosswalk.

A pedestrian is not required by law to activate cross walk lights to cross the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in England where we called them zebra crossings. If you are standing there waiting the cars have to stop, it’s the law. So it’s very easy to cross the road there. We live in moco and have a crosswalk here to get to our local library and we literally have to wait until no cars are coming because everyone just drives on thru.

Jump out and force them to slam on the brakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars are not required to stop at crosswalks if they have a green light.

This isn't true, at least in D.C.: https://code.dccouncil.us/us/dc/council/code/sections/50-2201.28.html

Though the way people drive around here, I'm not surprised to see someone believes it is.

This only say that pedestrian can only WALK on a WALK sing along and if they have a walk signal and are already in the crosswalk a car must stop.

Cars don’t stop for pedestrians that have “don’t wal” signals because the car has a green light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in England where we called them zebra crossings. If you are standing there waiting the cars have to stop, it’s the law. So it’s very easy to cross the road there. We live in moco and have a crosswalk here to get to our local library and we literally have to wait until no cars are coming because everyone just drives on thru.

Jump out and force them to slam on the brakes.

I've seen people do this when I lived in London. However, it's not worth the risk of ending up either being killed or seriously injured just to make a point. Best to wait for the car to come to a complete stop.