Poll: Walking through a red light

[runnernda]

It looks like I'm asking a "stupid question". That it's somehow obvious that traffic rules don't apply to pedestrians. I don't get it...

It's not breaking the rules when you're on foot, since there are no rules about crossing against the lights as a pedestrian. In most places, I know cyclists are supposed to follow traffic laws (not that they do...), but not pedestrians.

I don't know what the law says in Finland; but in Norway, Sweden and the UK "Red light means stop" is not the rule at all.

In Finland you can get fined for it. I've never seen it happen though, and the fine's pretty small anyway, so I guess the police just don't bother. But it's still not something you should do.

I live in the U.S. I know that jaywalking is technically illegal, and I think you can get fined for it? I think? I think it's become so commonplace now that you only get punished if you're being stupid about it.

Also, I just wiki'ed jaywalking, and apparently it IS illegal to cross against the lights in the U.S. Who knew? It's not going to stop me from doing it, but it's an interesting tidbit.

 

[Llil]

Then why is driving through red light any different? If you clearly see no-one's coming, then what's the problem?

Do you really trust people to make judgment calls like that?

No, I don't. I also don't trust pedestrians to always notice if a car is coming, and that's why we have pedestrian lights.

As someone else pointed out, there's more danger in crossing with a green pedestrian light when traffic is around than jaywalking on an empty street.

But crossing with a green light on an empty street is even safer.

 

[Sentox6]

As someone else pointed out, there's more danger in crossing with a green pedestrian light when traffic is around than jaywalking on an empty street.

But crossing with a green light on an empty street is even safer.

It's not safer, it's just equally safe.

 

[Joanny]

I was in Almere-Stad at a large pedestrian crossing(covering 3 lanes,for cars coming only from the left) I pushed the pedestrian button ;when all cars had passed ;the pedestrian light any minute could turn green and the road was clear and the last black car heading left (still very far from me )was about to turn left ;I started walking (Everybody does it there.) I looked ahead and could have easily passed behind the last car; had the car driven at normal speed, he'd be long gone ;but suddenly the car stopped or reversed ; in front of me ;blocking me the road. It turned out they were policeofficers??? (not in real uniform but casually dressed AND they didn't identify themselves) started intimidating me etc.bullying me from out of their car.I got scared because they just left me standing in the middle of the pedestrian crossing and kept bullying. I listened for a while but then decided to ignore them and go to the refuge; where I told the so called police officer (not in a policecar)that the man by blocking the road endangered my life. But the officer couldn't care less about it ;all he cared for was himself and writing a fine for over ?60 ;for crossing the street at a red light (allthough it turned green when I was half way the crossing);(if he had kept on bullying me and had left me standing there for much longer the pedestrian light would have turned red again and would I be in danger because in the meanwhile cars had arrived and started claxoning at the black car )They probably thus hit the orange/red light themselves.
Conclusion;so in Almere -Stad some people in the force r not there to protect people anymore but there to use people as prey? + squeeze money out of them . So even if you are a harmless innocent walker ;they manage to take your money and laugh about it+ they were acting out to me like they were on a manhunt.
If you need the same officers for serieus problems they are not there (because they are preying on the harmless.) I have never seen anyone get fined for walking through red by the way .
I am all for traffic lights with sensors .

 

[Girl With One Eye]

I do walk across if there's absolutely no cars around, if there's a car coming but slowly I still wait because it really annoys me when I'm driving and some idiot runs out infront of me.