Friday, August 14, 2009

Open letter to Pelican Crossing users.

Dear Pelican Crossing users of Stourport,

As you may be aware Stourport can at times get a little overburdened with traffic and this can create queues.

Now what you may not be aware of is the protocol that exists when one of these queues intersects a pelican crossing - Rule 192 of the Highway Code states that the crossing should be kept clear.

Lack of knowledge of this rule appears to be leading some users to believe that because the vehicle has stopped the lights are on red and they are safe to cross. It also appears to lead some users to believe they can cross half of the road and stand in front of the queued car waiting for the other side to clear.

This would be wrong and covered by Rule 18. These rules and this clarification are for your own benefit as disregarding them could lead to your death.

Thank you for your time and cross safely.

Your friendly Mad Ranter.

Inspired recently by a man and his young daughter almost getting run over after blithely stepping out in front of lorry in the opposite lane presumably under the impression that the lights were on red because a car had stopped as part of queue.

2 comments:

Pelican Cases said...

I think that this letter is applicable for everyone and for every cross walk. I do not understand what makes it ok for people to run up to the cross walk, and then walk slowly across it when they have already seen that the light is no longer in effect. I can only imagine how many people are hit each year for not paying attention to the lights, and that the number of adults is probably larger than the number of children that are hit. As much as I see people tell kids to look both ways before crossing, I still do not see them practice what they preach.

FlipC said...

A creaking statistic in my head suggests a fair percentage of such accidents occur within X yards of a crossing.

As to walking slowly they are supposed to walk and not run over a crossing, but likewise they're not supposed to start if the light is flashing. Sadly I must confess to crossing if the light has just started to flash, but I then walk at a brisk pace and have yet to be caught on a green.

Your point about children is well made - I despair at the times I see adults dragging children out into the road without any show of highway education. Children emulate adults so it just repeats a new cycle.

Personally I always stop to cross and check and when with the Bratii I purposefully voice my actions to reinforce correct behaviour. What they do when I'm not around I don't know, but with me they stop when crossing, they wait for their poor old cousin to catch up and both check what's coming and confirm with me they can cross.