Have the new "Stop for Pedestrian in Xwalk" signs ruined the car/pedestrian dynamic ???

[Anonymous]

I frequently use a crosswalk where the cars do not stop at all, even if I am trying to cross with children. It's ridiculous. They are speeding on a 25mph road as if it's a highway because there are no lights for maybe 10-12 blocks. We need to have more crosswalks where pedestrians can at least push a button and lights go on, or lights become a red stop for cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I frequently use a crosswalk where the cars do not stop at all, even if I am trying to cross with children. It's ridiculous. They are speeding on a 25mph road as if it's a highway because there are no lights for maybe 10-12 blocks. We need to have more crosswalks where pedestrians can at least push a button and lights go on, or lights become a red stop for cars.

They are texting, or stoned (possibly both). That’s why they do not stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a difference between _in_ and _entering_.

If you enter it, you are in it.

To enter the crosswalk, you might need to yield the right of way first. If a car is 3 feet from the intersection and traveling 15mph, do you really expect them to be able to stop?

[Anonymous]

If there is no light, the pedestrian has the right of way on a crosswalk. The driver must stop. Living in DC, drivers never stop unless you are actually in the crosswalk. So you have to walk in and take the chance.

[Anonymous]

I have walked to and from work in DC since '94. I have the right to trot out into the crosswalk in front of on-coming traffic but have seen enough people hit by cars to make sure I make eye contact with anyone I am going to walk in front of. Even if they are stopped at a stop sign. I've had cars who were stopped start up and almost hit me because they are not paying any attention.

When I drive which is rare - i am super careful to stop and allow any pedestrians milling around on the sidewalk the change to walk across but it's courteous if as a pedestrian you see a car waiting to expedite your walk and not wait until they are ready to go and then run out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drivers didn't stop before. You say "of course" but they didn't.

I head into the crosswalk because people don't stop when they see you waiting, even if they are required to, and because where I am going is as important as where you're going, and me waiting for several minutes so that you don't have to wait for a several seconds while I cross is ridiculous.

but here is where you are wrong. Drivers are only required to stop for pedestrians who are physically in the crosswalk. They are not required to stop just because someone is waiting to cross. Stopping to let someone cross can be dangerous if it is on a busy road. It is up to the pedestrian to wait until there is a break in traffic to cross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drivers didn't stop before. You say "of course" but they didn't.

I head into the crosswalk because people don't stop when they see you waiting, even if they are required to, and because where I am going is as important as where you're going, and me waiting for several minutes so that you don't have to wait for a several seconds while I cross is ridiculous.

but here is where you are wrong. Drivers are only required to stop for pedestrians who are physically in the crosswalk. They are not required to stop just because someone is waiting to cross. Stopping to let someone cross can be dangerous if it is on a busy road. It is up to the pedestrian to wait until there is a break in traffic to cross.

It's fascinating how this has turned into drivers having the right of way and pedestrians having to wait, no matter what the law says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before the signs, of course the driver of a car would stop if a walker was in the cross walk... BUT the walker would not enter the crosswalk if they saw a car approaching... it's what your parents taught you, don't walk out in front of a moving car.

BUT now, people old enough to know better and the younger generation head directly into the cross walk, frequently without hesitation, in front of an on coming car. As a driver I have seen walkers 6-12 feet from the curb, head directly into the cross walk even though they see the oncoming car. Why would they trust that the incoming car would stop just because they now have the right of way ??? It's like they feel entitled to make the car stop.

Can we go back to crossing when traffic is clear ???

That's the advice our parents gave us.

Obey the traffic laws by obeying posted speed limits and yielding to pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks. Cars have brakes for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drivers didn't stop before. You say "of course" but they didn't.

I head into the crosswalk because people don't stop when they see you waiting, even if they are required to, and because where I am going is as important as where you're going, and me waiting for several minutes so that you don't have to wait for a several seconds while I cross is ridiculous.

but here is where you are wrong. Drivers are only required to stop for pedestrians who are physically in the crosswalk. They are not required to stop just because someone is waiting to cross. Stopping to let someone cross can be dangerous if it is on a busy road. It is up to the pedestrian to wait until there is a break in traffic to cross.

It's fascinating how this has turned into drivers having the right of way and pedestrians having to wait, no matter what the law says.

No one has a right of way, one party needs to yield the right of way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before the signs, of course the driver of a car would stop if a walker was in the cross walk... BUT the walker would not enter the crosswalk if they saw a car approaching... it's what your parents taught you, don't walk out in front of a moving car.

BUT now, people old enough to know better and the younger generation head directly into the cross walk, frequently without hesitation, in front of an on coming car. As a driver I have seen walkers 6-12 feet from the curb, head directly into the cross walk even though they see the oncoming car. Why would they trust that the incoming car would stop just because they now have the right of way ??? It's like they feel entitled to make the car stop.

Can we go back to crossing when traffic is clear ???

That's the advice our parents gave us.

But they ARE entitled to make the car stop. That's the actual purpose of the crosswalk -- so that cars will stop and yield to pedestrians.

I think OP’s point is that they don’t even look which gives you zero margin for error. Technically they are supposed to make eye contact with the driver before they cross. The process is supposed to take long and be safe.

Where in the traffic code can I find this “technical” requirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drivers didn't stop before. You say "of course" but they didn't.

I head into the crosswalk because people don't stop when they see you waiting, even if they are required to, and because where I am going is as important as where you're going, and me waiting for several minutes so that you don't have to wait for a several seconds while I cross is ridiculous.

but here is where you are wrong. Drivers are only required to stop for pedestrians who are physically in the crosswalk. They are not required to stop just because someone is waiting to cross. Stopping to let someone cross can be dangerous if it is on a busy road. It is up to the pedestrian to wait until there is a break in traffic to cross.

It's fascinating how this has turned into drivers having the right of way and pedestrians having to wait, no matter what the law says.

No one has a right of way, one party needs to yield the right of way.

I seems you don’t understand the concept of “right of way.” The law requires that a driver yield to another who has the right of way. It’s the very essence of the concept of yielding, It also varies by state. In NJ drivers are required to stop for pedestrians in a marked crosswalk but yield to those in an unmarked crosswalk. In Connecticut a driver must yield to pedestrians standing at the curb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not naive... I don't walk in front of a moving car... and I accelerate to a jog if I'm already in cross walk and see a car approaching... momma didn't raise an (entitled) dummy.

But they have to stop. Its a law!

It’s not an issue of black and white. A pedestrian can be found (or contributorily negligent) at fault if they step directly in the path of an oncoming vehicle without affording the driver an opportunity to yield taking into account the relevant circumstances such as whether the driver was otherwise obeying all traffic laws. Absolutists fail to account for drivers distracted by the nature of current technology. Things were much simpler without touchscreen controls, maps, mobile devices. Never assume that you have been seen and the driver will yield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anybody who thinks their “right of way” is going to stop a multi thousand pound self-locomoting object moving at speed from crushing them flat needs their head examined. It is reckless and stupid to walk in front of moving cars.

Cars have a driver in control of braking, turning and accelerating. They are not yet autonomous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drivers didn't stop before. You say "of course" but they didn't.

I head into the crosswalk because people don't stop when they see you waiting, even if they are required to, and because where I am going is as important as where you're going, and me waiting for several minutes so that you don't have to wait for a several seconds while I cross is ridiculous.

but here is where you are wrong. Drivers are only required to stop for pedestrians who are physically in the crosswalk. They are not required to stop just because someone is waiting to cross. Stopping to let someone cross can be dangerous if it is on a busy road. It is up to the pedestrian to wait until there is a break in traffic to cross.

It's fascinating how this has turned into drivers having the right of way and pedestrians having to wait, no matter what the law says.

No one has a right of way, one party needs to yield the right of way.

I seems you don’t understand the concept of “right of way.” The law requires that a driver yield to another who has the right of way. It’s the very essence of the concept of yielding, It also varies by state. In NJ drivers are required to stop for pedestrians in a marked crosswalk but yield to those in an unmarked crosswalk. In Connecticut a driver must yield to pedestrians standing at the curb.

Pedestrians must also yield the right of way to vehicles. A crosswalk doesn't give you a right to step out into the crsswalk without due consideration for the rights of way for the drivers.

[Anonymous]

The “car/pedestrian dynamic” (should be driver/pedestrian) has proven deadly to pedestrians year-after-year. OP has no interest in seeing that change.