There should be a responsible pedestrian class.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

I wish parents would teach this sort of thing.

[Rixis]

You're far more likely to remember the one idiot who you almost ran over, than you are the 300 people you already drove past this morning.

[Seegtease]

Obviously it's a minority, but due to passing so many pedestrians, that makes it more likely to find a bad one. It shouldn't happen as often as it does. Even if it's only 1 in every 1000, that's 1 in 1000 that's at risk and causing drivers unnecessary stress.

I just think people who walk should understand more about how it feels to be driving. It would allow greater consideration. When they go for a drive, and approach a crosswalk, and someone who showed no intent of crossing suddenly starts crossing, at night, in dark clothing, and have to slam on their brakes only to find the pedestrian intended to stop just before they got into the collision path of your car and wait for you to pass (because this intent is so obvious), I want them to think "Wow, is that how I am? That's annoying as shit."

[Fleckens]

Maybe it's just where i live, but i find drivers without a clue much more common than pedestrians.

[Ycarene]

It is the responsibility of the driver to watch for pedestrians crossing the road. If you can't keep enough attention on piloting your two ton metal death machine to keep from hitting people crossing the road, perhaps you should consider another mode of transportation.

[Floopa]

Is this a problem? I cross roads all the time, even without help from traffic lights. Even on roundabouts. Maybe the UK is just better at crossing the road?

[Kurioxan]

Blame the pedestrians eh?
Its both's responsibility to pay attention to what is happening.

[Wildtree]

Does anyone else have any good suggestions to add to the list?

A suggestion, yes... But not to the list....

The suggestion however is, that it would be helpful if you'd include the country you are talking about.
Traffic: A different ball game in any given country. Laws, regulations, infrastructure vary extremely.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

It is the responsibility of the driver to watch for pedestrians crossing the road. If you can't keep enough attention on piloting your two ton metal death machine to keep from hitting people crossing the road, perhaps you should consider another mode of transportation.

Sounds like you're just giving pedestrians a pass on being asshats... sorry, not going to buy it.

[Wildtree]

Sounds like you're just giving pedestrians a pass on being asshats... sorry, not going to buy it.

As I said in my first post, it varies greatly by country. German traffic law is based on the protection of the weakest participant in traffic, which is the pedestrian.

Pedestrian > Bicycle > Moped > Motorbike > Passenger Car > Trucks > Semi Trucks
The higher up the chain, the heavier the law regulates you as a participant in traffic.

Common sense is the ground of all law in that regard.
The infrastructure is built with that in mind.

- - - Updated - - -

Is this a problem? I cross roads all the time, even without help from traffic lights. Even on roundabouts. Maybe the UK is just better at crossing the road?

The part of the US, where I live has horrendous conditions for pedestrians. The metro city here is Omaha, Nebraska. You feel like you live in the dark ages as a pedestrian. At least 75% of the city lacks proper sidewalks. The ones existent are less than 1 meter wide. In the winter, the snowplows just blow the snow from the streets onto the sidewalks, making them for the most parts unusable, forcing the pedestrian to walk on the roads. Now the roads are of course slippery too, and that makes walking around a life threatening adventure.

[Spazzer]

I've been crossing streets successfully since I was 5 years old.

...do people have a problem with it? I haven't noticed either as a pedestrian or as a driver.

You sir have won... laughed way too hard at this.. Yet, I have to also agree... how is this hard?

~Spazzer

[Seegtease]

It is the responsibility of the driver to watch for pedestrians crossing the road. If you can't keep enough attention on piloting your two ton metal death machine to keep from hitting people crossing the road, perhaps you should consider another mode of transportation.

Spoken as someone who has no experience driving. Are you saying it should be my fault if I hit someone who jets out into the road at a distance that is impossible to stop within?

Further, it's not even so much avoiding them. It's them giving the impression that they are going to walk in front of your car, when in reality they're just going to walk halfway, stop, and wait for you. They were never in danger of being hit, but at the same time, the driver had to slam on their brakes because they didn't know what the heck the idiot was going to do - they were walking right into the collision path. Sure, you could assume they will stop walking before then, but what if they don't?

[DrStiglit]

Spoken as someone who has no experience driving. Are you saying it should be my fault if I hit someone who jets out into the road at a distance that is impossible to stop within?

According to the law in a lot of places; yes it is your responsibility.

I'm a driver and a pedestrian and I hate both of them. But it is far scarier being a pedestrian in a busy city than it is being a driver.

[Seegtease]

According to the law in a lot of places; yes it is your responsibility.

Exactly (but I was asking if it should be, not if it is). Which is why it's so stressful as a driver. Even if a pedestrian is doing something incredibly stupid, any bad outcome is going to be blamed on the driver. Even if they do something unavoidable.

[DrStiglit]

Exactly (but I was asking if it should be, not if it is). Which is why it's so stressful as a driver. Even if a pedestrian is doing something incredibly stupid, any bad outcome is going to be blamed on the driver. Even if they do something unavoidable.

Ok, I got ya. I misread that.

Yes I do agree with you. There are certain scenarios that should not be the fault of the driver. When I took my driving test to change from Florida to California there was a question on the test that asked when pedestrians have the right of way and that was the only question I got wrong.. Apparently it's always..

[Blueobelisk]

Ok, I got ya. I misread that.

Yes I do agree with you. There are certain scenarios that should not be the fault of the driver. When I took my driving test to change from Florida to California there was a question on the test that asked when pedestrians have the right of way and that was the only question I got wrong.. Apparently it's always..

JAJAJA Florida driving is so easy how can you compare it. (My grandparents live in Florida so it's basically my 2nd lived in state, I can say what I want.) Almost everyone drives. Except for my grandpa when he plays the lotto.

Or like 11 o' clock at night when I pick up my grandpa from a local church. People decide that's a good time to walk their fucking dogs in the middle of the road (where there's no street). I'm not blaming them, I drive extremely slowly (speed limit is 20 in that area anyway), but like holy shit are those guys retards? You think if they saw my lights they'd move out of the street just for their own safety. But nope, let's glance at this not-white guy driving in our community at 11 at night.

[Cthulhu 2020]

I've seen some pretty ballsy pedestrians, but luckily I've managed to avoid dangerous situations with this simple thought process:

A three ton metal vehicle moving at ANY speed will fuck me up on impact. Therefore, avoiding impact is my prime concern.

I agree, pedestrians should be more responsible. But on the flip side I've seen narcissistic assholes who believe the road belongs to them, and even responsible pedestrians obeying all laws are just a hindrance.

[Ycarene]

Spoken as someone who has no experience driving. Are you saying it should be my fault if I hit someone who jets out into the road at a distance that is impossible to stop within?

Further, it's not even so much avoiding them. It's them giving the impression that they are going to walk in front of your car, when in reality they're just going to walk halfway, stop, and wait for you. They were never in danger of being hit, but at the same time, the driver had to slam on their brakes because they didn't know what the heck the idiot was going to do - they were walking right into the collision path. Sure, you could assume they will stop walking before then, but what if they don't?

You should always assume that the person standing at the corner (or even just walking down the sidewalk) is going to do just that, that way, when one of them inevitably does, you're prepared enough to stop and not hit them.

[Binary Speaker]

Id be happy if people would stop pulling out halfway into an intersection as they arrive.. I don't know if you're just gonna go or not...
Honestly I have more issues with drivers than I do pedestrians.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

As I said in my first post, it varies greatly by country. German traffic law is based on the protection of the weakest participant in traffic, which is the pedestrian.

Pedestrian > Bicycle > Moped > Motorbike > Passenger Car > Trucks > Semi Trucks
The higher up the chain, the heavier the law regulates you as a participant in traffic.

Common sense is the ground of all law in that regard.
The infrastructure is built with that in mind.

I saw your post man, but I think the post just means "take a class," I don't think he meant anything about changing laws. I agree with the OP, many pedestrians are just plain stupid, reckless and need a better attitude/knowledge of what to do.