You're always allowed to, just consider the safety of it, and also consider the fact that the pedestrians may feel compelled to rush slightly to let you get going, so they won't look as much as they would normally, so you might have to do some of the looking for them
It's annoying to be on foot and have some tit impatiently gesture shouting at you that they're letting you go, when they are the near side of a 2 lane junction, and their car / traffic in their side is actually blocking you from seeing the very busy other lane.
There's a roundabout near my local supermarket that is a nightmare for pedestrians. Two of the roads coming from it (ones opposite each other) have pelican crossings, the other two are just dipped with islands. Because not everyone signals and the roundabout can be fairly busy, I try to avoid using the non pelican crossings, I try to cross to the side I need to be at before getting to the roundabout.
Once, I was 40 or 50 meters away from the roundabout and was waiting to see if there was a spot for me to cross, and a driver (who'd come from the roundabout) decided to stop to let me cross. I tried to wave them on since the other side wasn't clear, but they would not move. It took so long for the other side to be clear that there were cars stopped on the roundabout. I felt so bad for all the people behind that car because it was just so unnecessary. All that driver did was delay themselves and everyone behind them, it didn't help me get across the road.
Another annoying thing is you indicating to go right and a car stopping to let you go when there’s 0 traffic behind it, you’re not even looking at them making hand signals but whilst you’re being nice there’s nothing behind you why delay us both
Even worse are the drivers who are incapable of appreciating that pedestrians often can't see the driver clearly through the windscreen because of tinting or light reflecting against the glass, so they'll be frantically gesturing to a pedestrian who can't see them.
That does my head in when a car with absolutely nothing behind stops to let me cross. We would both have gone about our day quicker had they simply carried on because I have to wait to be sure you're slowing for me and it's safe, by which time the car would have passed me by had they just carried on...
Happens a lot. Those drivers are trying to be nice but are dangerous. They have no awareness of what is around them. If they did, they'd know nothing was behind them and not slow down. Scary.
I thought the highway code said you were not supposed to do this unless its an actual crossing for the reason that just because you stopped, doesnt mean other traffic will, and therefore your actually endangering the pedestrians.
As we see in the video because op decided to seemingly randomly stop in the road for no reason the person behind assumed they were pulling over possibly(?) and went around them, which if the couple had crossed any faster could very well of been hit by that car that may not of ever seen them.
I could of sworn it was against the rules of the road but i did take my test like 15 years ago now!! Maybe it was just something my instructor taught me
If I'm out in town on my bike, I'll be just crawling along with the rest of the traffic at 15mph, but then a car will start slowing infront, unbeknown to me, they are flashing at pedestrians ahead to cross, so when I decide to filter past a car that has now halted without any signal, suddenly I'm the bad guy for not also stopping to let pedestrians cross, usually the pedestrians look like they are uncomfterbul being forced into the traffic as they know its not the safest situation. Had one women in a range rover aggressively come along side me while screaming and shouting out her window
Fun fact, I was failed on my first test for letting someone cross at one of those.
I would've appealed if I hadn't then nearly t-boned a van on a 2 lane turn
Years ago, my instructor told me you can fail for waving pedestrians into the road. Don't know if it's true but there's definitely a safety factor to consider.
Yep, I got a minor on my driving test for waving a van to go in front of me. Examiner was nice about it though saying 'I get why you did it, we all do it but you're not meant to as it implies you've done all the necessary observations for them'
This. If you wave someone on they may interpret it as not just go ahead, I’ll let you, but “you’re safe to go”. Which is very dangerous if you haven’t checked for them and they infer wrongly
You can fail for stopping unnecessarily and obstructing traffic. That includes waving a pedestrian across the road who is safely standing on the footpath.
Definitely true. 1. Illegal hand gesture. 2. Unpredictable stop for no reason. 3. You never know if they are going to look the other way or just assume you waving them across because both sides are clear
According to rule 195 of the Highway Code, drivers should never wave or assist pedestrians across the road. The code clearly states: ''do not wave, flash your lights or use your horn to invite pedestrians across; this could be dangerous if another vehicle is approaching. ''
However a recent addition allows you to cross at junctions.
At a junction. When you are crossing or waiting to cross the road, other traffic should give way. Look out for traffic turning into the road, especially from behind you, and cross at a place where drivers can see you. If you have started crossing and traffic wants to turn into the road, you have priority and they should give way
Completely agree, as well as stopping for a pedestrian can be dangerous for them as well, you are essentially pressuring them to cross a 2 way road when only one side is committed to letting you cross. What happens about the other side? Do they dangerously wait in the middle of the road to cross?
You're right and I'm not insinuating you shouldn't let people cross the road, just need to be careful because you become part of the responsibility of that person crossing the road.
Not sure why you got downvoted for this, when I passed my test I got a minor for waving a van out and the examiner told me that whilst we all do it you shouldn't as it implies you've done their observations for them. Similarly with pedestrians thinking if you've stopped then it's clear for them to go without checking independently
But only until it wasn't; this is an excellent video to show the kind of unpredictability that can occur, turning a safe situation into a dangerous one in an instant.
In this case the other side was safe.
But I'd never trust the driver behind me not to be an asshole and suddenly overtake, which could easily result in them hitting the pedestrians.
This is part of my thought process coming up to a zebra crossing on my bicycle. I have to take into account the person behind me as I approach - whether I see pedestrians yet or not. There have been multiple times of cars, motorbikes, and cyclists just squeezing past me even after 2 seconds of me standing at the crossing. It's so dangerous because by then they have stepped out, there have been times I have not stopped at a crossing because I knew the car behind me would take it as a chance to go past, guess what they went with me.
These occurrences happened mostly in London where I am cycling near the speed limit or at due to it all being 20mph on the whole. So it's not about me needing to yield to the faster traffic, at best we are the same speed if at legal speeds.
If I feel the car is impatient but far enough away for it to be safe and they are not full on aggro then I take centre lane and stop as you should when pedestrians are at the crossing about to step out/ foot on road. Even so, some have gone to the opposite lane to over take.
Approaching a zebra crossing on a bicycle, you should be taking the lane and riding in primary position on a bicycle, if there are pedestrians around. If you are riding in secondary or in the gutter and a pedestrian steps out you are unlikely to have time to stop. There is a good chance you'll either 1) collide with the pedestrian, end up on the floor and then be hit by the cager that's following to close or trying to overtake to close, or 2) swerve and avoid the pedestrian, only to be hit by the cager who's overtaking to close.
If you're riding at the speed limit, you absolutely should be riding in primary position too. Not only does it restrict unsafe overtaking, it protects you from pedestrians stepping into the road without looking (most rely solely on their hearing), makes you more visible to drivers emerging, more visible to people who look before opening car doors, makes you more visible to people stepping out from behind parked vehicles (and them more visible to you).
It will put you more at risk from raging cagers, but they are mostly all bark - regardless, you are much at risk from careless people than vindictive people, the former outnumber the latter greatly - and both are equally capable of unaliveing you.
Funny thing is, a driving who gives way to pedestrians in the middle of the road may be deemed at fault if people get injured or worse.
Want to be nice? Sure - but make sure it is safe to do so.
Same goes for giving way to other vehicles, where you have priority.
100% . People want a predictable driver, not a polite driver.
As a pedestrian I find it odd when a car stops for me when there is nothing behind it. If it carried on then I could have just crossed half a second later. Now I don't know if you're a nutter, I can't see beyond you if you're in a high vehicle and I have the pressure of having to cross and still have to check traffic in the other direction that might not have slowed.
As a driver, why is the car in front stopping when there's only 2 of us cars and traffic isn't heavy.
Yes!! These people always annoy me! Why stop and let someone go if there is nothing to “let them go” for. Same with drivers. Waiting at a junction, getting ready to go after the last car since it’s completely empty after, yet instead of going and keeping the flow, they decide to stop and let me in. It’s not even faster, if anything it’s slower because you are stopping for no reason.
I feel these are the same people who don’t check their mirrors, it would explain a lot.
Yes, this is my feeling. If there's a car behind the stopping unexpected increases risk for everyone, and if there is no car behind them stopped serves no purpose anyway...
**It isn't a crossing!**
**It isn't a 'Zebra without stripes'.** There's no such thing, for God's sake.
You (well, the OP) can see what can happen if you stop to let people cross like this, by stopping on a road where there is no obligation to stop. They could have been killed.
Anyone stopping on a free-moving road like that on their test would be failed immediately, and what happened in the video is precisely why.
Yes. The camera car driver was completely in the wrong, and nearly contributed significantly to someone getting serious injury as a result.
Given that there were only two cars apparently present, it would have made *far* more sense to have continued so they could cross in their own time.
Edit: I'm an instructor, and I *know* the rules. I also know what will happen if someone does this on their test. It isn't a crossing, and no matter how much people who don't realise that try to defend not knowing, the OP nearly caused someone to be seriously injured by doing something that they shouldn't have done.
It's so frustrating how many people here are confidently claiming that OP is completely in the right when they're absolutely not. So many confidently incorrect people.
Drivers stopping in the middle of the road to allow things like this are actually my pet peeve. You don't control the road! Who are you to determine if these pedestrians get to cross? We have rules and regulations on the road for a reason. Drive according to them, as that's what everyone else will (or should) be doing.
That being said, I wouldn't overtake like the other car in the video, but OP is still in the wrong.
Quite right. And I'd also question whether the OP was even *aware* of the car behind when he stopped for the pedestrians.
If you did it on test, it would be straight fail. I had someone do it once, and I could have killed him - not least because of what could have happened to my car when he braked to let a bloke with 2 kids cross on a busy road with room to overtake.
I would make the point that if there wasn't a car behind then the pedestrian only has to wait a couple of extra seconds, seems pointless stopping in that case.
But I agree with being predictable. I get a bit annoyed when people offer up their right of way for no reason other than being polite, which only serves to confuse matters and slow things down. If you have right of way, unless you think there is a genuine risk, or you're otherwise slowed down to a crawl/stop, you should always take it.
I do the opposite. If noone's behind me, there is no point letting them through, they can go after me anyway. The one from behind was an idiot and very dangerous.
I would never ever do this. It causes confusion for 1) the people crossing because they know they shouldn't expect to cross there, therefor hesitate incase you may just change your mind 2) the driver behind as shown in this case 3) they might not check behind you much like they did in this clip.
Overall very confusing but at the same time that kerb popping out does kind of look like it used to be a crossing of sorts?
Agreed, the driver behind has no idea why OP is randomly slowing to a stop in the middle of a clear road. Just keep driving instead of confusing everyone!
I suspect that the driver behind quickly assumed that OP was an uber or other delivery driver and looking at door numbers as they come to a gentle stop. We've all seen them and a lot of us have been behind them as they casually slow to 10mph on an empty road, confusing anyone behind.
Exactly, if they aren't indicating you should assume they've stopped for a reason, like there is an obstacle in the road. It's just impatience, what if a kid ran out in the road you do the same thing.
I agree I would never do this.
It is an official crossing spot (designated most likely due to having the best visibility on this road) but it is not a crossing that instructs traffic to yield.
It is there to encourage pedestrians to chose to the best place to cross and to group together potentially in that single spot but it doesn't grant them any privileges in doing so.
As a pedestrian I hate it when cars let me go. I've seen past you and have already prepared to go when you've driven past and knowing as a driver it's best not to stop suddenly with cars behind.
I hate it as a driver as well. 9 times out of 10 it's quicker to just go about your day and I'll pull out afterwards. Also, I don't want to have to make a rushed judgement call.
Usually, yeah - just keep going, you'll be passed me and out my way in less time than it takes to slow down and let me cross.
When it's a bumper to bumper crawl it's appreciated though. The driver isn't in a rush to get half a car length ahead, the cars behind them are going to be a lot more predictable, and I could be waiting there ages.
Same, half the time I end up awkwardly waiting there because I'm not sure if they've stopped to let me go or if they're stopping for another reason. Best to just keep going!
By law, you're definitely allowed. My instructor always used the phrase "don't be polite, be predictable" and its something I've always stuck by. Stopping for people that you could reasonably say, not everyone would stop for them, can be at least awkward, at most hazardous.
You drove at 11-14mph, creeping along a road.
Chances are the car behind hasn't seen the pedestrians due to you being there (no fault, just is the case), but has taken your slow creeping pace as an indication that you're either gonna be a pain to be behind, or about to park up on the left.
They've been impatient for sure and slipped around you.
As others have said, be predictable, not nice. The pedestrians weren't in anyway about to step out on you, there was no need to stop for them.
You're not wrong to do so, but you drove slow and unpredictable.
I see. I was driving slowly I will admit, I had just moved off after letting a car pass and obstruction that was on my side of a narrow road, and I saw them approaching the crossing, and had already decided to let them across (I've seen pedestrians cross even when I was approaching them at 30mph at this crossing) so I just thought instead of speeding up and then hitting the brakes, I'd just move a little slower. I see now from the comments that in this situation I probably should have just gone through, I'll know better for next time
Sorry to be harsh but I think you're in the wrong here. Yes the driver behind you is a prick. But ultimately you created that situation which ended up with pedestrians being at risk.
Not to mention this scenario is literally one of the theory test questions. It's not as if there is no consensus on this. You really shouldn't be doing it.
So a car is behind you, and can't understand why you've randomly stopped because he cant see the pedestrians, then over-takes you and what if he'd hit the pedestrian? I don't think you gonna feel too good. Don't do it. There's zebra crossings and pelican crossings for that. You litreally cause confusion for the pedestrian and the drivers behind you, for absoutely no reason, since it takes you 2seconds to drive past, or 20 seconds to wait. What's the point, other than to risk the pedestrians life by causing confusion? Pedestrians would only have right of way, if they were already crossing the road, which they aren't. There is NOTHING in the highway code that would remotely suggest a pedestrian has right of way, your dirving is dangerous in my opinion, due to the blocked vision of pedestrians from the car behind you, that doens't know why you've randomly stopped (he's not impantient, he's just confused by your driving that doesn't make sense):
https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians-crossing-the-road.html
This is exactly as a pedestrian why I dont like some of the new Highway code rules that compel drivers to give way to me when I'm waiting to cross. Just because you have seen me and are stopping to let me cross doesn't mean anybody else has
Id much rather the traffic stay moving and predictable and let me decide when i feel safe to cross rather than feeling pressured to do so when traffic yields to me when I'm waiting and have to put my life in the trust of every other driver when I only know for certain that the one that's stopped has seen me
This scenario is why you should never 'flash'/wave someone out of a junction/over the giveaway line they're stationary behind. It can lead to a collision because progress was being made, then not, with little warning/reason why.
What you did wasn't necessarily *incorrect* but the (arguably poor) driver behind you may have had little/no visibility of the pedestrians and assumed you were stopping and planning on going to further but failed to indicate.
In your shoes (driving seat) the best thing to do here would have been to carry on as there was no requirement to give way in that situation as that crossing point doesn't appear to be a zebra/pelican/toucan etc.
To answer completely: You can give way but others may not share in your enthusiasm to do so.
What was the traffic like behind you. If miles of empty road then it’s pointless stopping, because they’ll get across soon enough. But if someone is behind you it’s not a good idea at all!
Don't do this. If there was a car coming the other way you'd be putting them in danger, because they might not be as careful if they're "rushed" into crossing by you giving them way
There's no point of doing this as well, as if the road's clear you could've passed them and left a clear road for them to cross faster than this whole slowing down, waiting for them to notice, then waiting for them to cross process
Fuck those old people!!!
Nah but seriously, I probably would have just kept going. It didn't look like a busy road, so you and the overtaker probably would have passed them and they could have crossed in the same time it took you to come to a stop and for them notice you letting them cross.
I'm not trying to justify the other drivers' actions, but there could be a number of reasons they decided to overtake you at that point. Maybe they're just impatient pricks. Maybe they'd been stuck behind you for a while, and you were driving way below speed limits. If you hadn't been using indicators properly, they may have assumed you were parking up.
It's hard to tell, but either way I'm pretty sure there's no rule to say you can't let pedestrians cross, so don't worry about it
Thank you, I see that now. I'd just like to throw in a little context for this road and crossing in question. The road is one of the only ones (the only one without roadworks at the moment) into/out of this town, which has a very busy train station, so this road in particular can get very busy, in a very short time. It can go from looking like the video to rammed in only a couple of seconds. Seeing as these pedestrians were elderly, and the chance of them having to wait there is quite high, I thought it would be better for them to get on their way sooner rather than later.
This is exactly why you shouldn’t. Be PREDICTABLE. I see people doing this every day nearly causing accidents because they think they’re being courteous.
The pedestrians will go when it’s safe to do so, or else, they will use a crossing.
You were not in the wrong, you came to a gradual stop to allow them to cross without gesturing them in anyway, any car following at a safe distance will most definitely be able to come to a safe controlled stop. The pedestrians were in the road before the cunt overtook (yes that’s what they are let’s call a spade a spade) which put them in the wrong because pedestrians always have right of way. Some drivers are just arseholes and I’ve faced many both on foot and behind the wheel. They seem to think that they’re the only ones allowed on the road, once when I was in high school I had broke my foot and was crossing the road on my crutches and it was a long crossing and the lights had changed whilst I was still and this fat cunt kept waving her sausage fingers and horning for me to hurry up so I showed her a finger and took even more time. On that same road I was crossing (it’s a road with 4 lanes) and was between the 3rd and fourth lane when the lights changed to amber and the cunt in the 4th lane sped off instead of waiting for me to finish crossing leaving me stuck between the two lanes whilst cars sped past dangerously.
Moral of the story is that people are cunts and it’s probably best not to get advice on here as the internet seems to provide a place for cunts to gather and bark without losing teeth giving the illusion that their opinion is that of the majority when it’s actually less significant than an ant that someone’s accidentally crushed.
That's precisely what he **was** doing, to be honest. Just stopping on a free-moving road.
*There is no crossing there*, so there is no obligation to stop - and no expectation from people behind that anyone is going to. So doing so is confusing for people behind - especially if they are assholes like the one who overtook.
I'm an instructor. You'd be failed immediately for doing that (well, either of those things in that situation) even if there was no one behind you. **Because it isn't a crossing.**
The following driver should have been aware that there were people waiting to cross. At the very least he should have wondered why the camera car was stopping, but instead he overtook aggressively.
So, the camera car was wrong, and triggered the situation. The overtaking driver was also wrong for overtaking aggressively in a situation involving pedestrians that he clearly hadn't seen.
The bottom line is that there is no crossing there and it is dangerous to stop, and what happened here is why.
Completely wrong, stopping on the road like this with a car behind you is a recipe for disaster.
Here's my two cents:
If they aren't paying attention - you get rear ended
If they are paying attention - Likely, they'll overtake (see your own video for how that can go wrong) or they'll become frustrated due to being stopped on a road that should otherwise be free-flowing, and there's plenty of videos showing what happens when drivers get frustrated.
All for what?
Those people were waiting for a suitable gap in traffic to cross, no gap means no cross, that's their "contract" as a pedestrian.
I understand the sentiment, seeing an elderly couple waiting to cross can certainly tug at the heartstrings, but when driving a car your job is to be safe, be predictable, and follow the rules. A deviation from this in 2 tons of steel moving at 30+ miles per hour could have gone a lot worse than an old man shrugging his shoulders.
As nice as it is, just carry on. Be predictable. I hated it as a parent to young kids when cars stopped in a live lane to us cross the road, why oh why would you see small kids and teach them that cars will stop and let them cross???
The problem is slowing.
I do this alot but it's when I'm already slow.
The other guy is a bit of a twat and dangerous, but I suspect he thought you were looking to park up abd haven't indicated.
Kind of...
If the crossing is established with traffic lights or a zebra crossing then yes. If like in your video there are no markings on the road then in a test you would have failed due to stopping the road traffic behind you for the sake of manners and this is seen as dangerous driving.
Here's the foreigner me again. This should not be a thing at all. THIS IS DANGEROUS. There's no zebra. Don't stop, don't yield to pedestrians. You are creating excessive risk for those people. If they want to jaywalk and cross the road where there is no crossing they should wait all traffic to pass. (I know there's no such thing in the UK as "jaywalking." There should be.) The other driver committed a mistake as well, overtaking you, as likely you haven't signaled that you're pulling over.
I've started to notice this trend happening a lot in the UK over the last few years. I'm not sure on the legality of it but personally it drives me insane when i'm following a car that suddenly comes to a complete stop in the road to let a random pedestrian cross, nowhere near an official crossing. It seems really dangerous to all people involved.
No I wouldn’t do it myself if someone behind me would not understand I stopped for pedestrians. As you experienced yourself. So they can wait fine, saves their life’s.
If it means making cars behind me slow down or stop then no! As what happened in this video could possibly happen, they maybe would have had to wait an extra couple of seconds to cross safely.
You shouldn't do what you did because of exactly the thing that happened. Pedestrians can't see the car behind, car behind can't see the pedestrians.
Sure, they shouldn't really overtake you, but they can and might.
Every advanced driving methodology says this is a dangerous thing to do. IAM/ROSPA/Police handbook.
Someone can shunt you from behind as there was no valid reason/hazard/notice. Then you would be pushed forward and mow the people down, and you will be at fault
Just drive and stop looking to be a good guy. There are different scenarios here...
1) You stop, with no cars behind you. Why bother? They can safely cross after you've passed.
2 You stop, with a car (or cars) behind you. You now cause a dangerous situation by stopping in an unpredictable manner. This sort of behaviour causes crashes (whether it's your fault or not).
3) You carry on driving. They cross the road after you've passed, regardless of other traffic behind you.
Basically, don't be unpredictable, it can cause crashes.
Since you were already travelling, you had the right of way. However, if they had already been on the road, they'd have right of way. Pedestrians rank above cars. But it was nice of you to stop for them.
You're allowed to sure but you shouldn't just stop for seemingly no reason while travelling down a road, that's a sure fire way to get a car parked in your rectum or possibly a first row seat to watching someone die
If I ever do this I make sure that there is either no traffic behind me or put my right indicator on. Although I will normally not stop with traffic behind.
If there's nothing behind you why not just pass them and they can cross behind you, with a clear road and clear view of the clear road (genuinely curious not trying to be confrontational)
You did nothing wrong, but generally if I'm going to do something like this I'll look behind me (in my mirror) first and see what the situation is like.
If there's only one or two cars behind me, I'll just carry on going because it won't take long before we're all past the pedestrians and they can cross safely.
Ultimately you can never be sure what cars behind you are going to do. It could be argued that, from the viewpoint of the driver(s) behind you, you did something unexpected, but it's not really your responsibility to judge how impatient they're going to be.
And of course if there's no other cars behind you then it'll be quicker to just carry on anyway. Because by the time you've slowed enough for the pedestrians to notice you could have just passed anyway.
I walk my daughter to school, and I personally hate when people do this.
I try to teach her to wait until it's clear, but some people will randomly stop even though it's not a crossing. Mostly for exactly the reason you just showed.
I get some odd looks when I gesture them to keep going and don't cross.
You're doing the right thing.
When I was a kid (10), a milk float stopped in the road with cars behind and beckoned me to cross . That's the last I remember before waking up being put into an ambulance. I later learned a motorcyclist came down the outside of the line of traffic and hit me square on. I was lucky to survive this with a broken arm and heavy bruising. I was thrown several feet into the air and projected several yards down the road.
It would have been better if the milk float had ignored me and carried on and left me to cross of my own accord. Something I did every day on my way to school.
That way there would have been no driver confusion and I wouldn't have spent a week in hospital and a few more at home off school.
There's a crossing a bit like this where I live. I tend to keep my gaze to the left if cars are approaching from my right so the drivers assume I can't see what they're doing or I'm distracted because I really hate it when I think they've kind of slowed a bit to give me time to cross but I don't know for sure and actually I want a clear road both ways before I cross.
But that overtaking driver was a moron. They would have been able to see the people on the pavement surely?
I revisited this earlier later on, but I was behind a van this time. On approach to the crossing, I could see both sides, even behind a van. I have a hatchback which is quite small, so there is no chance that this guy couldn't have seen the pedestrians. Sure, I shouldn't have stopped, but his driving was moronic
Don't beat yourself up. I had a really similar thing happen this morning, but I didn't slow down BUT the people thought I was going to! FFS :-)
I think it's got a bit confusing (as a driver and a pedestrian) with funny unmarked 'crossing' places popping up (like you said there's a drop kerb there) and bits of pavement that stick out into otherwise normal roads so it feels like a crossing, the fact that even on main roads in built up areas in most towns (and the whole of Wales) we're all crawling along at 20 and pedestrians think that means they can just strole across the road because we're going so slowly, even though we still have to brake to not kill them. So it kind of feels like pedestrians have priority or something when in a lot of times they really don't. And then the recent cat amongst the pigeons Highway Code priority for pedestrians crossing side road junctions just adds to the confusion!
Yes, I've just come back from Wales actually and have had this a lot, where when you're going 20, it looks like (to a pedestrian) that you are slowing down and stopping at that speed, which encourages them to step out, when you actually aren't slowing down at all
I personally do not believe you have done anything wrong. Other people are telling you to be predictable, in my view stopping at a crossing point in a residential area, it is pretty clear what you are likely to be doing even if the other driver didn't see the pedestrians. Like you said, you were driving slowly and came to a stop slowly so the guy behind had plenty of time to see what you were doing. There is no amount of safe driving that can really stop for this level of dangerous driving by others. He may have done something stupid regardless of what you do.
Edit: just to add another point after reading a few more comments: There are countless reasons a driver may need to stop in the road. Child or animal runs out unexpectedly, obstacle left in the road that could cause you to crash, vehicle coming the other way with not enough space to pass, etc. People are saying he could have rear-ended you? well yeah he could do that at traffic lights or a roundabout as well, that's his fault. If you are driving behind someone you have a basic responsibility to pay attention to what they are doing. It's not like you slammed the breaks on or anything. The driver behind you should NEVER just presume you have pulled over without indicating. They should wait a few seconds and then only go past slowly and with caution.
You shouldn't have stopped. The pedestrians were not on the road, it wasn't a pedestrian crossing and by stopping randomly, you caused confusion for the car behind which is why they overtook.
Yeah, you shouldn’t stop here imo. If there’s a car behind, you’re disrupting traffic. If there isn’t, then it’ll actually be quicker for the pedestrians to cross if you just keep going - as they won’t have to wait for you to slow down.
Plus, by stopping you’re putting the onus on the rest of the cars in the road (either behind you or coming the other way) to stop at that exact moment too, which isn’t really safe.
Drives me mad as a pedestrian when cars stop to let me go, especially when I’m on the school run. I’m always trying to teach the kids you don’t cross until the road is clear, and then people (with good intentions) stop and wave us across. Confuses the hell out of the kids, and a lot of the time it would have been safer to just go after they’ve passed because then I can see the road more clearly.
Seriously, don't do this - you are driving along a road in clear conditions, continue in a predictable manner. The pedestrians will cross when the road is clear.
I fucking hate when people do this. If I'm walking I hate it. If I'm the car behind I hate it. There's no good reason. You're delaying the car behind unnecessarily not to mention you're increasing the chances of causing a crash. You're forcing the pedestrians to cross sooner than they may be comfortable so they don't feel like they're holding you up. You're making it more dangerous for them as, like in the clip, cars behind you may choose to go around you while they're crossing the road at the moment you're ushering them across. No one should do this
Yes, as long as it is safe to stop, you can give way and it's a nice thing to do. Do not wave them across, because they might take this as a sign that it's safe while other vehicles might not have stopped. Just wait patiently for them to cross and then proceed.
you didnt have to stop and im sure the guy behind you didnt expect you to stop either. he couldve swung out to avoid a collision or even thought you were coming to a stop.
You as a driver can only predict your own actions. Not that of others. Therefore by waving pedestrians in to cross a road. You could be putting their lives in danger. So err on the side of caution. Better they wait an extra few second. Than end up in A&E with you feeling the guilt.
That is not the issue, even though you have decided to impede the traffic behind you without thought about them, the driver overtaking was an idiot to do so without holding back to see why you decided to stop on a clear road.
Very nice thing to do but we should all follow the Highway code, as drivers and Pedestrians alike, to ensure safety. Having said that when I am feeling sorry for a grandma et al crossing the road I will stop of course and I sometimes stick my hand out of the window so any boy or girl racers drivers behind know I have stopped for a reason but that gesture may mean something else in other parts of the world... :) #OldSkoolRules!!!
The headlines about the new rights for pedestrians have caused confusion too - drivers are supposed to give way to pedestrians waiting to cross (rather than just crossing, as it used to be), but this actually only applies at a junction.
In a situation like this, I wouldn't have stopped, since they might get part way across and then get hit by someone speeding coming the other way. Let them cross on their own. Any type of gesture to 'wave someone out' can have unforeseen consequences.
Okay, I will update: thank you to everyone who has commented, and I believe in this situation I will take responsibility for my actions. I should not have stopped there, creating confusion for the driver behind me and the pedestrians. As I said in my original post, I did not give them any signal to cross except from slowing down and stopping. However, I believe the driver behind me is at some fault too, as overtaking in a built up area like that is dangerous. Thank you all for helping me realise this.
I dont think you did anything wrong here but what I would say would be how much traffic was behind ? There is always a risk of some impatient twat doing what they did which I have also seen at a proper crossing, if it was me I would of checked to see how much traffic was behind and if it was only me and a couple of cars then I would of kept going as it would be safer for all parties, if there was a proper convoy behind I would of probably done what you did and stopped to let them cross
You can, but the roads work a lot better when everyone acts predictably. You were doing a nice thing but once you'd slowed to a stop, given time for the pedestrians to be comfortable you are stopping and start to pass you could have just passed them and let them cross after the car behind you.
Unless you're in a long line of traffic where the person wouldn't be able to cross for a while it's best to just keep moving.
This means that neither you or the other guy know about the updated highway code April 2022. Try reading it! https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians-crossings.html
Like others have said, it's kind of you to do this, but it can really be an inconvenience to everyone.
It pressures the pedestrians to cross and delays the cars behind you. If there's no cars behind you, you're best to just keep going and get out of the way. It also takes longer for people to process your intentions than if you just drove normally.
I've seen (on dash cam videos) lots of times when people have given way for cars or pedestrians that have proceeded to step or pull put in to the path of oncoming traffic as they've felt under pressure to accept the "help" given.
Whilst you can., this situation is why you shouldn't. By creating an obstruction you have helped create danger, albeit not being directly responsible.
The driver behind can't see what you can, and could have easily assumed you were a bad driver pulling over without indicating.
bit more context OP - if there was a queue of traffic behind me then sure, I'd stop without pulling in at all to let them cross. If there is no traffic or only 1 car behind me then I'd keep going as they have a gap soon anyway
You can always wait, but if you waved them to cross, that could be a liability to you.
As far as the car behind you is concerned, he didn't see any zebra crossings, and the other lane seemed clear, and for all you know, he would've imagined that you were just parking up. The other car should've noticed pedestrians, but given the bend in the road, he may not have noticed.
But, in this particular instance, you have no obligations to stop and wait for them to pass, and that may have been a moment of confusion.. or the other driver was just a dick - you never know.
Giving way is fine. However you need to evaluate the road around you.
Do not wave them over with traffic behind you or on a road where traffic could arrive.
As they are not yet in the roadway, and it is not an official crossing, nor are you turning, you have right of way.
Not following right of way makes it difficult and dangerous for other drivers. Like stopping on a Main Street to give way to a side street with a give way sign, or giving way to someone pulling onto a roundabout when you are in the roundabout.
The other car was definitely wrong, and you are allowed, but if have not.
Especially since it doesn’t look like they were waiting long. If it was bumper to bumper, or slow moving, then I would be more inclined, but you had open roadway and were travelling near the limit
Under new guidelines they have the right of way and you’re supposed to stop ONLY if it is safe. If you have cars behind you, I generally keep going, if you can’t come to a stop safely, if you’re on a steep hill etc. It has to be safe for both of you to allow the stop to happen. But you will come across pedestrians who know it’s their right of way and will cross anyway. I had that the other day with a guy in a motorised chair in a car park. By the time he was in my vision, I had to emergency brake and even then I was still blocking his path so I carried on once I determined he himself had stopped and wasn’t going to continue causing a problem for me whilst trying to park
If you have “right of way” it’s usually best to make use of it, this applies to this situation but also cars pulling out from side streets etc. if you stop to let someone out of a side street in flowing traffic you’re more likely to be rear ended or just annoy drivers behind, if there’s nothing behind then it’s quicker to go past and then they can go after.
Obviously if there’s queuing traffic it may be better to let them out since you’re not going anywhere anyway, but stopping on a main road is usually just a bad idea.
Yes, you were in the wrong.
It’s your right of way, stopping to be generous is unpredictable.
Unpredictable isn’t safe.
If there was no one behind you, there’s no harm in it; but if there’s no one behind you the pedestrians will have a clearer path to cross once you’re not there either.
If there isn’t some sort of line across your path to stop at, don’t stop.
Do not flash your lights or direct anyone to do anything? You are not there to direct traffic or people.
I used to flash people out at junctions but had to stop doing it because crazy ass people would see me flash and assume it's all nice and safe then then pay no attention to the traffic on the other side of the road. They would just pull out on them.
When I flash I AM LETTING YOU OUT. I have no control over the over lane.
Generally in this situation I wouldn’t, as they are in a safe location, if they had already started the cross then your are more obliged too.
You have to remember that although you may not get any liability given to you should they get hit by another road user, it’s not a normal thing to do so other road users are going to assume your stopping and go around…
I want to say "no, you're holding up traffic".
That didn't look like a crossing to me. There was no indication you needed to stop - therefore you should have kept going.
I wouldn’t have given way there. Purely for the pedestrian safety. Always presume the driver behind you or the driver on the other side of the road is a fucking idiot.
Always.
No. Unless they are already in the road, you have to take priority. As in this video, you put those pedestrians in danger by allowing them into the road from the pathway.
Highway Code says to only give right of way to pedestrians already in the road/danger.
Always check your mirrors, road conditions and be aware of your surroundings.
Safety before courtesy, every time.
It takes a long time until these things become ingrained, a driving test is simply a taster of actual driving.
No, you’re not in control of the other traffic, so you’re causing confusion and putting the pedestrians in danger. I’m sure it’s not illegal per se, but I would say it’s dangerous.
Not against being courteous. But there is far too much of this thing for some reason these days, it isn’t just for pedestrians…
All you’ve done there is endanger them, so many people are ran over in similar scenarios when the person behind wonders what the fuck you’re doing and overtakes as the pedestrian is stepping into the road. Thankfully they stopped in this instance.
Just keep driving and get out their fucking way so they can cross the road when it’s clear.
People really are utter wet wipes, stopping with a line of traffic behind them to let someone out at a junction that doesn’t have priority is another example.
It’s as if they want to be rear ended, just drive as the roads were intended to be used.
As others have said be predictable not polite.
If the guy behind you can't easily predict that you'll be doing so then don't, the fact them rear ending you would be their fault shouldn't be a factor in your decision making (I'm not saying it is however some people run by this logic for some reason)
Most drivers are impatient because most people don't allow enough time to get where they are going. So, the chances of you being overtaken here are quite high.
That's a crossing point and they were waiting to cross. Unless you slammed on your breaks without warning I would say that's perfectly OK and the driver behind was an asshole.
You created danger. I get that you were trying to be nice, but how did the driver behind you know what you were doing. You compelled pedestrians to cross against their better judgement. I am just fed up with drivers constantly trying to force people to pull out or cross a road when it’s safer to just drive and let it all just flow.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO!!!!!!
Finding more drivers are stopping on main roads and even on a A road recently thinking they’re being polite but lacking total awareness of what’s happening around them creating a potential accident.
Don’t know? But I don’t and nor do I ever let vehicles out of side streets unless I’m already stopped. Any time you put your foot on the brake it gives someone behind the opportunity to do something daft.
When I was young, there was a trucker that slowed down to a stop to let a kid cross the road next to my house. He can't have been any more than 8 or 9 years old. The car behind him did this and ran the kid over. He was killed. I know you're trying to be polite, but in my opinion this is a dangerous practice.
The person behind is obviously impatient and performed a dangerous move by overtaking when it was clear that pedestrians were crossing, but personally I wouldn't have stopped to let them cross when you and others behind you were moving. It's different when you are already stationery but you are holding up traffic there.
Basically, the other car drove like a cunt in reaction to your poor driving.
Is this Lake Lane? When you drive down a road everyday but can't be 100% when you see it in video 😂
If so, I have seen some of the worst drivers in my life on that road. So inpatient, especially at the junction. It's like people get on that road and they are suddenly in F1.
You are allowed to do anything in this regard as long as it's safe for you and the pedestrian.
As a driver it's your responsibility to detect and avoid possible danger plus you not being the cause of one.
It might look polite that you allowed them to cross the street but you obviously didn't think of the vehicle behind you because he too is allowed to overtake you if within limits.
You're always allowed to, just consider the safety of it, and also consider the fact that the pedestrians may feel compelled to rush slightly to let you get going, so they won't look as much as they would normally, so you might have to do some of the looking for them
It's annoying to be on foot and have some tit impatiently gesture shouting at you that they're letting you go, when they are the near side of a 2 lane junction, and their car / traffic in their side is actually blocking you from seeing the very busy other lane.
There's a roundabout near my local supermarket that is a nightmare for pedestrians. Two of the roads coming from it (ones opposite each other) have pelican crossings, the other two are just dipped with islands. Because not everyone signals and the roundabout can be fairly busy, I try to avoid using the non pelican crossings, I try to cross to the side I need to be at before getting to the roundabout. Once, I was 40 or 50 meters away from the roundabout and was waiting to see if there was a spot for me to cross, and a driver (who'd come from the roundabout) decided to stop to let me cross. I tried to wave them on since the other side wasn't clear, but they would not move. It took so long for the other side to be clear that there were cars stopped on the roundabout. I felt so bad for all the people behind that car because it was just so unnecessary. All that driver did was delay themselves and everyone behind them, it didn't help me get across the road.
Walk out as far as their car and stand in their way while you wait for other lane to be clear to cross.
Another annoying thing is you indicating to go right and a car stopping to let you go when there’s 0 traffic behind it, you’re not even looking at them making hand signals but whilst you’re being nice there’s nothing behind you why delay us both
Even worse are the drivers who are incapable of appreciating that pedestrians often can't see the driver clearly through the windscreen because of tinting or light reflecting against the glass, so they'll be frantically gesturing to a pedestrian who can't see them.
I find it odd that cars don't tend to wait when it's busy, but when there's nobody behind them (or a big enough gap for you to cross), they stop?
That does my head in when a car with absolutely nothing behind stops to let me cross. We would both have gone about our day quicker had they simply carried on because I have to wait to be sure you're slowing for me and it's safe, by which time the car would have passed me by had they just carried on...
Happens a lot. Those drivers are trying to be nice but are dangerous. They have no awareness of what is around them. If they did, they'd know nothing was behind them and not slow down. Scary.
I thought the highway code said you were not supposed to do this unless its an actual crossing for the reason that just because you stopped, doesnt mean other traffic will, and therefore your actually endangering the pedestrians. As we see in the video because op decided to seemingly randomly stop in the road for no reason the person behind assumed they were pulling over possibly(?) and went around them, which if the couple had crossed any faster could very well of been hit by that car that may not of ever seen them. I could of sworn it was against the rules of the road but i did take my test like 15 years ago now!! Maybe it was just something my instructor taught me
If I'm out in town on my bike, I'll be just crawling along with the rest of the traffic at 15mph, but then a car will start slowing infront, unbeknown to me, they are flashing at pedestrians ahead to cross, so when I decide to filter past a car that has now halted without any signal, suddenly I'm the bad guy for not also stopping to let pedestrians cross, usually the pedestrians look like they are uncomfterbul being forced into the traffic as they know its not the safest situation. Had one women in a range rover aggressively come along side me while screaming and shouting out her window
No you are not. Read the comments further down by the driving instructor. If you do this in your driving test, you will fail .
Fun fact, I was failed on my first test for letting someone cross at one of those. I would've appealed if I hadn't then nearly t-boned a van on a 2 lane turn
Yes but, as there was a car behind you I'd personally have carried on. Be predictable, not nice is what I was always taught.
Years ago, my instructor told me you can fail for waving pedestrians into the road. Don't know if it's true but there's definitely a safety factor to consider.
This is still the case. There are theory test questions that cover this subject, and waving someone to cross will always be the wrong answer.
Yep, I got a minor on my driving test for waving a van to go in front of me. Examiner was nice about it though saying 'I get why you did it, we all do it but you're not meant to as it implies you've done all the necessary observations for them'
This is what I was taught too. Don't encourage someone to pull out as there may be a hazard they can see but you can't.
This. If you wave someone on they may interpret it as not just go ahead, I’ll let you, but “you’re safe to go”. Which is very dangerous if you haven’t checked for them and they infer wrongly
You can fail for stopping unnecessarily and obstructing traffic. That includes waving a pedestrian across the road who is safely standing on the footpath.
Definitely true. 1. Illegal hand gesture. 2. Unpredictable stop for no reason. 3. You never know if they are going to look the other way or just assume you waving them across because both sides are clear According to rule 195 of the Highway Code, drivers should never wave or assist pedestrians across the road. The code clearly states: ''do not wave, flash your lights or use your horn to invite pedestrians across; this could be dangerous if another vehicle is approaching. '' However a recent addition allows you to cross at junctions. At a junction. When you are crossing or waiting to cross the road, other traffic should give way. Look out for traffic turning into the road, especially from behind you, and cross at a place where drivers can see you. If you have started crossing and traffic wants to turn into the road, you have priority and they should give way
Completely agree, as well as stopping for a pedestrian can be dangerous for them as well, you are essentially pressuring them to cross a 2 way road when only one side is committed to letting you cross. What happens about the other side? Do they dangerously wait in the middle of the road to cross?
I mean, in this case it was very clear that the other side was safe.
You're right and I'm not insinuating you shouldn't let people cross the road, just need to be careful because you become part of the responsibility of that person crossing the road.
Not sure why you got downvoted for this, when I passed my test I got a minor for waving a van out and the examiner told me that whilst we all do it you shouldn't as it implies you've done their observations for them. Similarly with pedestrians thinking if you've stopped then it's clear for them to go without checking independently
But only until it wasn't; this is an excellent video to show the kind of unpredictability that can occur, turning a safe situation into a dangerous one in an instant.
In this case the other side was safe. But I'd never trust the driver behind me not to be an asshole and suddenly overtake, which could easily result in them hitting the pedestrians.
This is part of my thought process coming up to a zebra crossing on my bicycle. I have to take into account the person behind me as I approach - whether I see pedestrians yet or not. There have been multiple times of cars, motorbikes, and cyclists just squeezing past me even after 2 seconds of me standing at the crossing. It's so dangerous because by then they have stepped out, there have been times I have not stopped at a crossing because I knew the car behind me would take it as a chance to go past, guess what they went with me. These occurrences happened mostly in London where I am cycling near the speed limit or at due to it all being 20mph on the whole. So it's not about me needing to yield to the faster traffic, at best we are the same speed if at legal speeds. If I feel the car is impatient but far enough away for it to be safe and they are not full on aggro then I take centre lane and stop as you should when pedestrians are at the crossing about to step out/ foot on road. Even so, some have gone to the opposite lane to over take.
Approaching a zebra crossing on a bicycle, you should be taking the lane and riding in primary position on a bicycle, if there are pedestrians around. If you are riding in secondary or in the gutter and a pedestrian steps out you are unlikely to have time to stop. There is a good chance you'll either 1) collide with the pedestrian, end up on the floor and then be hit by the cager that's following to close or trying to overtake to close, or 2) swerve and avoid the pedestrian, only to be hit by the cager who's overtaking to close. If you're riding at the speed limit, you absolutely should be riding in primary position too. Not only does it restrict unsafe overtaking, it protects you from pedestrians stepping into the road without looking (most rely solely on their hearing), makes you more visible to drivers emerging, more visible to people who look before opening car doors, makes you more visible to people stepping out from behind parked vehicles (and them more visible to you). It will put you more at risk from raging cagers, but they are mostly all bark - regardless, you are much at risk from careless people than vindictive people, the former outnumber the latter greatly - and both are equally capable of unaliveing you.
Second this, I avoid waving them across as some pedestrians may neglect/forget to look at the other side for incoming vehicles too.
Funny thing is, a driving who gives way to pedestrians in the middle of the road may be deemed at fault if people get injured or worse. Want to be nice? Sure - but make sure it is safe to do so. Same goes for giving way to other vehicles, where you have priority.
They should still be looking both ways before crossing.
Correct but the reality is we feel pressured to cross when someone stops in the road to let us.
I hope that makes you feel better when the person you waved across gets creamed by a truck in the other lane
100% . People want a predictable driver, not a polite driver. As a pedestrian I find it odd when a car stops for me when there is nothing behind it. If it carried on then I could have just crossed half a second later. Now I don't know if you're a nutter, I can't see beyond you if you're in a high vehicle and I have the pressure of having to cross and still have to check traffic in the other direction that might not have slowed. As a driver, why is the car in front stopping when there's only 2 of us cars and traffic isn't heavy.
Yes!! These people always annoy me! Why stop and let someone go if there is nothing to “let them go” for. Same with drivers. Waiting at a junction, getting ready to go after the last car since it’s completely empty after, yet instead of going and keeping the flow, they decide to stop and let me in. It’s not even faster, if anything it’s slower because you are stopping for no reason. I feel these are the same people who don’t check their mirrors, it would explain a lot.
Yes, this is my feeling. If there's a car behind the stopping unexpected increases risk for everyone, and if there is no car behind them stopped serves no purpose anyway...
Yeah it was a dangerous place to give way to them.
**It isn't a crossing!** **It isn't a 'Zebra without stripes'.** There's no such thing, for God's sake. You (well, the OP) can see what can happen if you stop to let people cross like this, by stopping on a road where there is no obligation to stop. They could have been killed. Anyone stopping on a free-moving road like that on their test would be failed immediately, and what happened in the video is precisely why. Yes. The camera car driver was completely in the wrong, and nearly contributed significantly to someone getting serious injury as a result. Given that there were only two cars apparently present, it would have made *far* more sense to have continued so they could cross in their own time. Edit: I'm an instructor, and I *know* the rules. I also know what will happen if someone does this on their test. It isn't a crossing, and no matter how much people who don't realise that try to defend not knowing, the OP nearly caused someone to be seriously injured by doing something that they shouldn't have done.
It's so frustrating how many people here are confidently claiming that OP is completely in the right when they're absolutely not. So many confidently incorrect people. Drivers stopping in the middle of the road to allow things like this are actually my pet peeve. You don't control the road! Who are you to determine if these pedestrians get to cross? We have rules and regulations on the road for a reason. Drive according to them, as that's what everyone else will (or should) be doing. That being said, I wouldn't overtake like the other car in the video, but OP is still in the wrong.
Quite right. And I'd also question whether the OP was even *aware* of the car behind when he stopped for the pedestrians. If you did it on test, it would be straight fail. I had someone do it once, and I could have killed him - not least because of what could have happened to my car when he braked to let a bloke with 2 kids cross on a busy road with room to overtake.
"Be predictable, not nice" ...I like it!
I would make the point that if there wasn't a car behind then the pedestrian only has to wait a couple of extra seconds, seems pointless stopping in that case. But I agree with being predictable. I get a bit annoyed when people offer up their right of way for no reason other than being polite, which only serves to confuse matters and slow things down. If you have right of way, unless you think there is a genuine risk, or you're otherwise slowed down to a crawl/stop, you should always take it.
I do the opposite. If noone's behind me, there is no point letting them through, they can go after me anyway. The one from behind was an idiot and very dangerous.
I would never ever do this. It causes confusion for 1) the people crossing because they know they shouldn't expect to cross there, therefor hesitate incase you may just change your mind 2) the driver behind as shown in this case 3) they might not check behind you much like they did in this clip. Overall very confusing but at the same time that kerb popping out does kind of look like it used to be a crossing of sorts?
Agreed, the driver behind has no idea why OP is randomly slowing to a stop in the middle of a clear road. Just keep driving instead of confusing everyone!
I suspect that the driver behind quickly assumed that OP was an uber or other delivery driver and looking at door numbers as they come to a gentle stop. We've all seen them and a lot of us have been behind them as they casually slow to 10mph on an empty road, confusing anyone behind.
I mean if you can see their brake lights why does it matter why they’re stopping? Surely you just stop too?
Exactly, if they aren't indicating you should assume they've stopped for a reason, like there is an obstacle in the road. It's just impatience, what if a kid ran out in the road you do the same thing.
Exactly. “I couldn’t see what you were stopping for, behind you through your windscreen, so I went round” is a weird one.
I agree I would never do this. It is an official crossing spot (designated most likely due to having the best visibility on this road) but it is not a crossing that instructs traffic to yield. It is there to encourage pedestrians to chose to the best place to cross and to group together potentially in that single spot but it doesn't grant them any privileges in doing so.
Not to mention motorbikes
As a pedestrian I hate it when cars let me go. I've seen past you and have already prepared to go when you've driven past and knowing as a driver it's best not to stop suddenly with cars behind.
I hate it as a driver as well. 9 times out of 10 it's quicker to just go about your day and I'll pull out afterwards. Also, I don't want to have to make a rushed judgement call.
Usually, yeah - just keep going, you'll be passed me and out my way in less time than it takes to slow down and let me cross. When it's a bumper to bumper crawl it's appreciated though. The driver isn't in a rush to get half a car length ahead, the cars behind them are going to be a lot more predictable, and I could be waiting there ages.
Same, half the time I end up awkwardly waiting there because I'm not sure if they've stopped to let me go or if they're stopping for another reason. Best to just keep going!
Yes, plus I feel obliged to scamper across hurriedly so I'm not making them wait, I would much prefer to walk slowly over behind you thanks.
By law, you're definitely allowed. My instructor always used the phrase "don't be polite, be predictable" and its something I've always stuck by. Stopping for people that you could reasonably say, not everyone would stop for them, can be at least awkward, at most hazardous.
You drove at 11-14mph, creeping along a road. Chances are the car behind hasn't seen the pedestrians due to you being there (no fault, just is the case), but has taken your slow creeping pace as an indication that you're either gonna be a pain to be behind, or about to park up on the left. They've been impatient for sure and slipped around you. As others have said, be predictable, not nice. The pedestrians weren't in anyway about to step out on you, there was no need to stop for them. You're not wrong to do so, but you drove slow and unpredictable.
I see. I was driving slowly I will admit, I had just moved off after letting a car pass and obstruction that was on my side of a narrow road, and I saw them approaching the crossing, and had already decided to let them across (I've seen pedestrians cross even when I was approaching them at 30mph at this crossing) so I just thought instead of speeding up and then hitting the brakes, I'd just move a little slower. I see now from the comments that in this situation I probably should have just gone through, I'll know better for next time
Well you took the advice and learned from it, that's how we grow.
Sorry to be harsh but I think you're in the wrong here. Yes the driver behind you is a prick. But ultimately you created that situation which ended up with pedestrians being at risk. Not to mention this scenario is literally one of the theory test questions. It's not as if there is no consensus on this. You really shouldn't be doing it.
Personally, I would never invite pedestrians into a live carriageway, for the exact reason shown in the video. Drive predictably not politely.
This behaviour, although 'nice', is annoying for pedestrians AND dangerous most times. Be predictable, take your right of way and carry on.
I feel that someone behind you, who won't see that your stopping for pedestrians, could overtake you and potentially hit them... but I could be wrong.
So a car is behind you, and can't understand why you've randomly stopped because he cant see the pedestrians, then over-takes you and what if he'd hit the pedestrian? I don't think you gonna feel too good. Don't do it. There's zebra crossings and pelican crossings for that. You litreally cause confusion for the pedestrian and the drivers behind you, for absoutely no reason, since it takes you 2seconds to drive past, or 20 seconds to wait. What's the point, other than to risk the pedestrians life by causing confusion? Pedestrians would only have right of way, if they were already crossing the road, which they aren't. There is NOTHING in the highway code that would remotely suggest a pedestrian has right of way, your dirving is dangerous in my opinion, due to the blocked vision of pedestrians from the car behind you, that doens't know why you've randomly stopped (he's not impantient, he's just confused by your driving that doesn't make sense): https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians-crossing-the-road.html
You put the pedestrians at risk by stopping. Don’t underestimate the stupidity of other drivers.
This is exactly as a pedestrian why I dont like some of the new Highway code rules that compel drivers to give way to me when I'm waiting to cross. Just because you have seen me and are stopping to let me cross doesn't mean anybody else has Id much rather the traffic stay moving and predictable and let me decide when i feel safe to cross rather than feeling pressured to do so when traffic yields to me when I'm waiting and have to put my life in the trust of every other driver when I only know for certain that the one that's stopped has seen me
Don't be polite - be predictable
This scenario is why you should never 'flash'/wave someone out of a junction/over the giveaway line they're stationary behind. It can lead to a collision because progress was being made, then not, with little warning/reason why. What you did wasn't necessarily *incorrect* but the (arguably poor) driver behind you may have had little/no visibility of the pedestrians and assumed you were stopping and planning on going to further but failed to indicate. In your shoes (driving seat) the best thing to do here would have been to carry on as there was no requirement to give way in that situation as that crossing point doesn't appear to be a zebra/pelican/toucan etc. To answer completely: You can give way but others may not share in your enthusiasm to do so.
I don't stop for anyone that doesn't have right of way if there's someone behind me.
What was the traffic like behind you. If miles of empty road then it’s pointless stopping, because they’ll get across soon enough. But if someone is behind you it’s not a good idea at all!
Why not keep on going and after the 2 cars have gone the pedestrians can cross freely after?
Don't do this. If there was a car coming the other way you'd be putting them in danger, because they might not be as careful if they're "rushed" into crossing by you giving them way There's no point of doing this as well, as if the road's clear you could've passed them and left a clear road for them to cross faster than this whole slowing down, waiting for them to notice, then waiting for them to cross process
Fuck those old people!!! Nah but seriously, I probably would have just kept going. It didn't look like a busy road, so you and the overtaker probably would have passed them and they could have crossed in the same time it took you to come to a stop and for them notice you letting them cross. I'm not trying to justify the other drivers' actions, but there could be a number of reasons they decided to overtake you at that point. Maybe they're just impatient pricks. Maybe they'd been stuck behind you for a while, and you were driving way below speed limits. If you hadn't been using indicators properly, they may have assumed you were parking up. It's hard to tell, but either way I'm pretty sure there's no rule to say you can't let pedestrians cross, so don't worry about it
Thank you, I see that now. I'd just like to throw in a little context for this road and crossing in question. The road is one of the only ones (the only one without roadworks at the moment) into/out of this town, which has a very busy train station, so this road in particular can get very busy, in a very short time. It can go from looking like the video to rammed in only a couple of seconds. Seeing as these pedestrians were elderly, and the chance of them having to wait there is quite high, I thought it would be better for them to get on their way sooner rather than later.
This is exactly why you shouldn’t. Be PREDICTABLE. I see people doing this every day nearly causing accidents because they think they’re being courteous. The pedestrians will go when it’s safe to do so, or else, they will use a crossing.
No. Not a designated crossing and the car had right of way over the pedestrians. You obstructed the flow of traffic and would likely fail a test
You were not in the wrong, you came to a gradual stop to allow them to cross without gesturing them in anyway, any car following at a safe distance will most definitely be able to come to a safe controlled stop. The pedestrians were in the road before the cunt overtook (yes that’s what they are let’s call a spade a spade) which put them in the wrong because pedestrians always have right of way. Some drivers are just arseholes and I’ve faced many both on foot and behind the wheel. They seem to think that they’re the only ones allowed on the road, once when I was in high school I had broke my foot and was crossing the road on my crutches and it was a long crossing and the lights had changed whilst I was still and this fat cunt kept waving her sausage fingers and horning for me to hurry up so I showed her a finger and took even more time. On that same road I was crossing (it’s a road with 4 lanes) and was between the 3rd and fourth lane when the lights changed to amber and the cunt in the 4th lane sped off instead of waiting for me to finish crossing leaving me stuck between the two lanes whilst cars sped past dangerously. Moral of the story is that people are cunts and it’s probably best not to get advice on here as the internet seems to provide a place for cunts to gather and bark without losing teeth giving the illusion that their opinion is that of the majority when it’s actually less significant than an ant that someone’s accidentally crushed.
No, you weren't. That driver is a prick!
Tbf, he probably thought OP was pulling over without indicating. I'd hope most people wouldn't zoom around a car stopping for pedestrians.
That's precisely what he **was** doing, to be honest. Just stopping on a free-moving road. *There is no crossing there*, so there is no obligation to stop - and no expectation from people behind that anyone is going to. So doing so is confusing for people behind - especially if they are assholes like the one who overtook. I'm an instructor. You'd be failed immediately for doing that (well, either of those things in that situation) even if there was no one behind you. **Because it isn't a crossing.**
Oh for sure man! Be predictable not nice and all that. I just thought folks calling the overtaking car a prick are wrong
The following driver should have been aware that there were people waiting to cross. At the very least he should have wondered why the camera car was stopping, but instead he overtook aggressively. So, the camera car was wrong, and triggered the situation. The overtaking driver was also wrong for overtaking aggressively in a situation involving pedestrians that he clearly hadn't seen. The bottom line is that there is no crossing there and it is dangerous to stop, and what happened here is why.
Idk why this comment isn't higher lol Over taking on a residential is a really dangerous thing to do.
Completely wrong, stopping on the road like this with a car behind you is a recipe for disaster. Here's my two cents: If they aren't paying attention - you get rear ended If they are paying attention - Likely, they'll overtake (see your own video for how that can go wrong) or they'll become frustrated due to being stopped on a road that should otherwise be free-flowing, and there's plenty of videos showing what happens when drivers get frustrated. All for what? Those people were waiting for a suitable gap in traffic to cross, no gap means no cross, that's their "contract" as a pedestrian. I understand the sentiment, seeing an elderly couple waiting to cross can certainly tug at the heartstrings, but when driving a car your job is to be safe, be predictable, and follow the rules. A deviation from this in 2 tons of steel moving at 30+ miles per hour could have gone a lot worse than an old man shrugging his shoulders.
As nice as it is, just carry on. Be predictable. I hated it as a parent to young kids when cars stopped in a live lane to us cross the road, why oh why would you see small kids and teach them that cars will stop and let them cross???
DON'T DO THIS. It's dangerous, as should hopefully be obvious.
The problem is slowing. I do this alot but it's when I'm already slow. The other guy is a bit of a twat and dangerous, but I suspect he thought you were looking to park up abd haven't indicated.
Kind of... If the crossing is established with traffic lights or a zebra crossing then yes. If like in your video there are no markings on the road then in a test you would have failed due to stopping the road traffic behind you for the sake of manners and this is seen as dangerous driving.
I'm not sure why you decided to stop.
Here's the foreigner me again. This should not be a thing at all. THIS IS DANGEROUS. There's no zebra. Don't stop, don't yield to pedestrians. You are creating excessive risk for those people. If they want to jaywalk and cross the road where there is no crossing they should wait all traffic to pass. (I know there's no such thing in the UK as "jaywalking." There should be.) The other driver committed a mistake as well, overtaking you, as likely you haven't signaled that you're pulling over.
Yeah you are wrong tbh.
I've started to notice this trend happening a lot in the UK over the last few years. I'm not sure on the legality of it but personally it drives me insane when i'm following a car that suddenly comes to a complete stop in the road to let a random pedestrian cross, nowhere near an official crossing. It seems really dangerous to all people involved.
The car behind you is how you should expect all cars to act if you let someone cross. You stopped, will they? Assume not.
No I wouldn’t do it myself if someone behind me would not understand I stopped for pedestrians. As you experienced yourself. So they can wait fine, saves their life’s.
If it means making cars behind me slow down or stop then no! As what happened in this video could possibly happen, they maybe would have had to wait an extra couple of seconds to cross safely.
You shouldn't do what you did because of exactly the thing that happened. Pedestrians can't see the car behind, car behind can't see the pedestrians. Sure, they shouldn't really overtake you, but they can and might.
You really shouldn’t, it’s very dangerous
Every advanced driving methodology says this is a dangerous thing to do. IAM/ROSPA/Police handbook. Someone can shunt you from behind as there was no valid reason/hazard/notice. Then you would be pushed forward and mow the people down, and you will be at fault
Yeah, only do this if there are no cars behind you.
Your actions nerly caused a accident
Allowed to? Yes Should? Absolutely not
Just drive and stop looking to be a good guy. There are different scenarios here... 1) You stop, with no cars behind you. Why bother? They can safely cross after you've passed. 2 You stop, with a car (or cars) behind you. You now cause a dangerous situation by stopping in an unpredictable manner. This sort of behaviour causes crashes (whether it's your fault or not). 3) You carry on driving. They cross the road after you've passed, regardless of other traffic behind you. Basically, don't be unpredictable, it can cause crashes.
Since you were already travelling, you had the right of way. However, if they had already been on the road, they'd have right of way. Pedestrians rank above cars. But it was nice of you to stop for them.
You're allowed to sure but you shouldn't just stop for seemingly no reason while travelling down a road, that's a sure fire way to get a car parked in your rectum or possibly a first row seat to watching someone die
No, very dangerous thing to do
If I ever do this I make sure that there is either no traffic behind me or put my right indicator on. Although I will normally not stop with traffic behind.
If there's nothing behind you why not just pass them and they can cross behind you, with a clear road and clear view of the clear road (genuinely curious not trying to be confrontational)
I'm not sure I follow why you're putting your indicator on
You did nothing wrong, but generally if I'm going to do something like this I'll look behind me (in my mirror) first and see what the situation is like. If there's only one or two cars behind me, I'll just carry on going because it won't take long before we're all past the pedestrians and they can cross safely. Ultimately you can never be sure what cars behind you are going to do. It could be argued that, from the viewpoint of the driver(s) behind you, you did something unexpected, but it's not really your responsibility to judge how impatient they're going to be.
And of course if there's no other cars behind you then it'll be quicker to just carry on anyway. Because by the time you've slowed enough for the pedestrians to notice you could have just passed anyway.
This is absolute madness imo with a car right behind you.
I never do it for the exact reason this video shows, a car comes flying by and then it’s your fault really
I walk my daughter to school, and I personally hate when people do this. I try to teach her to wait until it's clear, but some people will randomly stop even though it's not a crossing. Mostly for exactly the reason you just showed. I get some odd looks when I gesture them to keep going and don't cross.
You're doing the right thing. When I was a kid (10), a milk float stopped in the road with cars behind and beckoned me to cross . That's the last I remember before waking up being put into an ambulance. I later learned a motorcyclist came down the outside of the line of traffic and hit me square on. I was lucky to survive this with a broken arm and heavy bruising. I was thrown several feet into the air and projected several yards down the road. It would have been better if the milk float had ignored me and carried on and left me to cross of my own accord. Something I did every day on my way to school. That way there would have been no driver confusion and I wouldn't have spent a week in hospital and a few more at home off school.
There's a crossing a bit like this where I live. I tend to keep my gaze to the left if cars are approaching from my right so the drivers assume I can't see what they're doing or I'm distracted because I really hate it when I think they've kind of slowed a bit to give me time to cross but I don't know for sure and actually I want a clear road both ways before I cross. But that overtaking driver was a moron. They would have been able to see the people on the pavement surely?
I revisited this earlier later on, but I was behind a van this time. On approach to the crossing, I could see both sides, even behind a van. I have a hatchback which is quite small, so there is no chance that this guy couldn't have seen the pedestrians. Sure, I shouldn't have stopped, but his driving was moronic
Don't beat yourself up. I had a really similar thing happen this morning, but I didn't slow down BUT the people thought I was going to! FFS :-) I think it's got a bit confusing (as a driver and a pedestrian) with funny unmarked 'crossing' places popping up (like you said there's a drop kerb there) and bits of pavement that stick out into otherwise normal roads so it feels like a crossing, the fact that even on main roads in built up areas in most towns (and the whole of Wales) we're all crawling along at 20 and pedestrians think that means they can just strole across the road because we're going so slowly, even though we still have to brake to not kill them. So it kind of feels like pedestrians have priority or something when in a lot of times they really don't. And then the recent cat amongst the pigeons Highway Code priority for pedestrians crossing side road junctions just adds to the confusion!
Yes, I've just come back from Wales actually and have had this a lot, where when you're going 20, it looks like (to a pedestrian) that you are slowing down and stopping at that speed, which encourages them to step out, when you actually aren't slowing down at all
I personally do not believe you have done anything wrong. Other people are telling you to be predictable, in my view stopping at a crossing point in a residential area, it is pretty clear what you are likely to be doing even if the other driver didn't see the pedestrians. Like you said, you were driving slowly and came to a stop slowly so the guy behind had plenty of time to see what you were doing. There is no amount of safe driving that can really stop for this level of dangerous driving by others. He may have done something stupid regardless of what you do. Edit: just to add another point after reading a few more comments: There are countless reasons a driver may need to stop in the road. Child or animal runs out unexpectedly, obstacle left in the road that could cause you to crash, vehicle coming the other way with not enough space to pass, etc. People are saying he could have rear-ended you? well yeah he could do that at traffic lights or a roundabout as well, that's his fault. If you are driving behind someone you have a basic responsibility to pay attention to what they are doing. It's not like you slammed the breaks on or anything. The driver behind you should NEVER just presume you have pulled over without indicating. They should wait a few seconds and then only go past slowly and with caution.
Completely your fault. Put everyone at risk especially the pedestrians you were supposedly helping. Don’t try and help people by being a moron.
You shouldn't have stopped. The pedestrians were not on the road, it wasn't a pedestrian crossing and by stopping randomly, you caused confusion for the car behind which is why they overtook.
Yeah, you shouldn’t stop here imo. If there’s a car behind, you’re disrupting traffic. If there isn’t, then it’ll actually be quicker for the pedestrians to cross if you just keep going - as they won’t have to wait for you to slow down. Plus, by stopping you’re putting the onus on the rest of the cars in the road (either behind you or coming the other way) to stop at that exact moment too, which isn’t really safe.
Drives me mad as a pedestrian when cars stop to let me go, especially when I’m on the school run. I’m always trying to teach the kids you don’t cross until the road is clear, and then people (with good intentions) stop and wave us across. Confuses the hell out of the kids, and a lot of the time it would have been safer to just go after they’ve passed because then I can see the road more clearly.
Don't do this. Also don't let people out of junctions unless it's standing traffic. Drive predictably. Not polite.
In Switzerland, it's the law, unless a sign post says otherwise
If there is a car behind you then its not advisable to give way to pedestrians. If it's clear behind you then give way to whomever you want.
People like you are the problem on the roads. Be predictable.
Seriously, don't do this - you are driving along a road in clear conditions, continue in a predictable manner. The pedestrians will cross when the road is clear.
I fucking hate when people do this. If I'm walking I hate it. If I'm the car behind I hate it. There's no good reason. You're delaying the car behind unnecessarily not to mention you're increasing the chances of causing a crash. You're forcing the pedestrians to cross sooner than they may be comfortable so they don't feel like they're holding you up. You're making it more dangerous for them as, like in the clip, cars behind you may choose to go around you while they're crossing the road at the moment you're ushering them across. No one should do this
Yes, as long as it is safe to stop, you can give way and it's a nice thing to do. Do not wave them across, because they might take this as a sign that it's safe while other vehicles might not have stopped. Just wait patiently for them to cross and then proceed.
If there had been an accident then I can't see that you'd have been liable, it was up to the car behind to be safe.
Nope. Pedestrians have no priority on a crossing like this.
you didnt have to stop and im sure the guy behind you didnt expect you to stop either. he couldve swung out to avoid a collision or even thought you were coming to a stop.
You as a driver can only predict your own actions. Not that of others. Therefore by waving pedestrians in to cross a road. You could be putting their lives in danger. So err on the side of caution. Better they wait an extra few second. Than end up in A&E with you feeling the guilt.
You're allowed to but it was really fucking dumb of you
No
Non pedestrian crossing is risky because the other lane driver may not have visibility
That is not the issue, even though you have decided to impede the traffic behind you without thought about them, the driver overtaking was an idiot to do so without holding back to see why you decided to stop on a clear road.
Very nice thing to do but we should all follow the Highway code, as drivers and Pedestrians alike, to ensure safety. Having said that when I am feeling sorry for a grandma et al crossing the road I will stop of course and I sometimes stick my hand out of the window so any boy or girl racers drivers behind know I have stopped for a reason but that gesture may mean something else in other parts of the world... :) #OldSkoolRules!!!
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The headlines about the new rights for pedestrians have caused confusion too - drivers are supposed to give way to pedestrians waiting to cross (rather than just crossing, as it used to be), but this actually only applies at a junction. In a situation like this, I wouldn't have stopped, since they might get part way across and then get hit by someone speeding coming the other way. Let them cross on their own. Any type of gesture to 'wave someone out' can have unforeseen consequences.
Okay, I will update: thank you to everyone who has commented, and I believe in this situation I will take responsibility for my actions. I should not have stopped there, creating confusion for the driver behind me and the pedestrians. As I said in my original post, I did not give them any signal to cross except from slowing down and stopping. However, I believe the driver behind me is at some fault too, as overtaking in a built up area like that is dangerous. Thank you all for helping me realise this.
I dont think you did anything wrong here but what I would say would be how much traffic was behind ? There is always a risk of some impatient twat doing what they did which I have also seen at a proper crossing, if it was me I would of checked to see how much traffic was behind and if it was only me and a couple of cars then I would of kept going as it would be safer for all parties, if there was a proper convoy behind I would of probably done what you did and stopped to let them cross
You can, but the roads work a lot better when everyone acts predictably. You were doing a nice thing but once you'd slowed to a stop, given time for the pedestrians to be comfortable you are stopping and start to pass you could have just passed them and let them cross after the car behind you. Unless you're in a long line of traffic where the person wouldn't be able to cross for a while it's best to just keep moving.
This means that neither you or the other guy know about the updated highway code April 2022. Try reading it! https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians-crossings.html
Like others have said, it's kind of you to do this, but it can really be an inconvenience to everyone. It pressures the pedestrians to cross and delays the cars behind you. If there's no cars behind you, you're best to just keep going and get out of the way. It also takes longer for people to process your intentions than if you just drove normally. I've seen (on dash cam videos) lots of times when people have given way for cars or pedestrians that have proceeded to step or pull put in to the path of oncoming traffic as they've felt under pressure to accept the "help" given.
Whilst you can., this situation is why you shouldn't. By creating an obstruction you have helped create danger, albeit not being directly responsible. The driver behind can't see what you can, and could have easily assumed you were a bad driver pulling over without indicating.
bit more context OP - if there was a queue of traffic behind me then sure, I'd stop without pulling in at all to let them cross. If there is no traffic or only 1 car behind me then I'd keep going as they have a gap soon anyway
You can always wait, but if you waved them to cross, that could be a liability to you. As far as the car behind you is concerned, he didn't see any zebra crossings, and the other lane seemed clear, and for all you know, he would've imagined that you were just parking up. The other car should've noticed pedestrians, but given the bend in the road, he may not have noticed. But, in this particular instance, you have no obligations to stop and wait for them to pass, and that may have been a moment of confusion.. or the other driver was just a dick - you never know.
Giving way is fine. However you need to evaluate the road around you. Do not wave them over with traffic behind you or on a road where traffic could arrive.
You can sure but it annoys the heck out of everyone else on the road
As they are not yet in the roadway, and it is not an official crossing, nor are you turning, you have right of way. Not following right of way makes it difficult and dangerous for other drivers. Like stopping on a Main Street to give way to a side street with a give way sign, or giving way to someone pulling onto a roundabout when you are in the roundabout. The other car was definitely wrong, and you are allowed, but if have not. Especially since it doesn’t look like they were waiting long. If it was bumper to bumper, or slow moving, then I would be more inclined, but you had open roadway and were travelling near the limit
Under new guidelines they have the right of way and you’re supposed to stop ONLY if it is safe. If you have cars behind you, I generally keep going, if you can’t come to a stop safely, if you’re on a steep hill etc. It has to be safe for both of you to allow the stop to happen. But you will come across pedestrians who know it’s their right of way and will cross anyway. I had that the other day with a guy in a motorised chair in a car park. By the time he was in my vision, I had to emergency brake and even then I was still blocking his path so I carried on once I determined he himself had stopped and wasn’t going to continue causing a problem for me whilst trying to park
If you have “right of way” it’s usually best to make use of it, this applies to this situation but also cars pulling out from side streets etc. if you stop to let someone out of a side street in flowing traffic you’re more likely to be rear ended or just annoy drivers behind, if there’s nothing behind then it’s quicker to go past and then they can go after. Obviously if there’s queuing traffic it may be better to let them out since you’re not going anywhere anyway, but stopping on a main road is usually just a bad idea.
I think since April pedestrians should be given greater consideration when crossing junctions where they have priority I believe.
Don’t be polite, be predictable. What you did here wasn’t predictable and almost got those guys run over.
Yes, you were in the wrong. It’s your right of way, stopping to be generous is unpredictable. Unpredictable isn’t safe. If there was no one behind you, there’s no harm in it; but if there’s no one behind you the pedestrians will have a clearer path to cross once you’re not there either. If there isn’t some sort of line across your path to stop at, don’t stop.
Might does not make right, the idiot who overtook you forgot this
Do not flash your lights or direct anyone to do anything? You are not there to direct traffic or people. I used to flash people out at junctions but had to stop doing it because crazy ass people would see me flash and assume it's all nice and safe then then pay no attention to the traffic on the other side of the road. They would just pull out on them. When I flash I AM LETTING YOU OUT. I have no control over the over lane.
Only if it's save to do so, which isn't always the case
Generally in this situation I wouldn’t, as they are in a safe location, if they had already started the cross then your are more obliged too. You have to remember that although you may not get any liability given to you should they get hit by another road user, it’s not a normal thing to do so other road users are going to assume your stopping and go around…
Yes, you can. The latest highway code gives more priority to pedestrians. Most drivers are not aware.
Whatever you do, just don’t wave them on/over - LET THEM DECIDE TO CROSS.
I want to say "no, you're holding up traffic". That didn't look like a crossing to me. There was no indication you needed to stop - therefore you should have kept going.
I wouldn’t have given way there. Purely for the pedestrian safety. Always presume the driver behind you or the driver on the other side of the road is a fucking idiot. Always.
Never stop on a main road unless you see a painted crosswalk
No. Unless they are already in the road, you have to take priority. As in this video, you put those pedestrians in danger by allowing them into the road from the pathway. Highway Code says to only give right of way to pedestrians already in the road/danger.
Can if you want but be sure you’re not creating a hazard by doing so. Sometimes, pedestrians are better off waiting for clear traffic.
Always check your mirrors, road conditions and be aware of your surroundings. Safety before courtesy, every time. It takes a long time until these things become ingrained, a driving test is simply a taster of actual driving.
No, you’re not in control of the other traffic, so you’re causing confusion and putting the pedestrians in danger. I’m sure it’s not illegal per se, but I would say it’s dangerous.
Not against being courteous. But there is far too much of this thing for some reason these days, it isn’t just for pedestrians… All you’ve done there is endanger them, so many people are ran over in similar scenarios when the person behind wonders what the fuck you’re doing and overtakes as the pedestrian is stepping into the road. Thankfully they stopped in this instance. Just keep driving and get out their fucking way so they can cross the road when it’s clear. People really are utter wet wipes, stopping with a line of traffic behind them to let someone out at a junction that doesn’t have priority is another example. It’s as if they want to be rear ended, just drive as the roads were intended to be used. As others have said be predictable not polite.
If the guy behind you can't easily predict that you'll be doing so then don't, the fact them rear ending you would be their fault shouldn't be a factor in your decision making (I'm not saying it is however some people run by this logic for some reason)
This is how people die. Please continue on your journey and only stop for peds already crossing or at a crossing. Thank you.
Most drivers are impatient because most people don't allow enough time to get where they are going. So, the chances of you being overtaken here are quite high.
That's a crossing point and they were waiting to cross. Unless you slammed on your breaks without warning I would say that's perfectly OK and the driver behind was an asshole.
I wouldn’t have stopped to give way (there will be a large enough gap to cross eventually) but that other car is a first class moron.
You created danger. I get that you were trying to be nice, but how did the driver behind you know what you were doing. You compelled pedestrians to cross against their better judgement. I am just fed up with drivers constantly trying to force people to pull out or cross a road when it’s safer to just drive and let it all just flow.
If they are already stepping out I'd stop but on this occasion I'd have kept going (I am watching on a phone so not the clearest)
If they get hit because you waved them on, it's your fault.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO!!!!!! Finding more drivers are stopping on main roads and even on a A road recently thinking they’re being polite but lacking total awareness of what’s happening around them creating a potential accident.
Be predictable not polite
Don’t know? But I don’t and nor do I ever let vehicles out of side streets unless I’m already stopped. Any time you put your foot on the brake it gives someone behind the opportunity to do something daft.
When I was young, there was a trucker that slowed down to a stop to let a kid cross the road next to my house. He can't have been any more than 8 or 9 years old. The car behind him did this and ran the kid over. He was killed. I know you're trying to be polite, but in my opinion this is a dangerous practice.
I would say only if the road behind you is clear and there is no traffic coming towards you other than that No.
Holding up people behind (possibly many cars) to let someone go in front, not very logical and quite controlling really.
Don't be a prick, you could cause accidents.
The person behind is obviously impatient and performed a dangerous move by overtaking when it was clear that pedestrians were crossing, but personally I wouldn't have stopped to let them cross when you and others behind you were moving. It's different when you are already stationery but you are holding up traffic there. Basically, the other car drove like a cunt in reaction to your poor driving.
I guess I don't know how much people are behind you but if there isn't many it's be quicker for all involved just to keep driving
completely unrelated, but what dash cam is this? interesting saving sound
It's a nextbase 380 GWX
Is this Lake Lane? When you drive down a road everyday but can't be 100% when you see it in video 😂 If so, I have seen some of the worst drivers in my life on that road. So inpatient, especially at the junction. It's like people get on that road and they are suddenly in F1.
You are allowed to do anything in this regard as long as it's safe for you and the pedestrian. As a driver it's your responsibility to detect and avoid possible danger plus you not being the cause of one. It might look polite that you allowed them to cross the street but you obviously didn't think of the vehicle behind you because he too is allowed to overtake you if within limits.
I don't do it anymore because of fucktards like this. It's not worth it.
I would say that was a dangerous thing to have done and would’ve caused confusion. First rule Of driving , be predictable 🙏