Poll: Walking through a red light

[MetalMagpie]

So why does it seem to be okay to break the rules when you're on foot?

Because pedestrian lights are for the safety of pedestrians. So if you ignore them as a pedestrian you're only risking your own safety. If you ignore them as a driver, you're risking someone else's safety.

In any case, there's no rule that says pedestrians have to obey ANY road markings or lights. (In the UK at least.) We can cross the road however we like as long as we do it safely.

 

[kasperbbs]

Sure, if there are no cars i wont wait for the damn light to turn green, why would i waste my time for no reason?

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Yup, and sometimes I even jaywalk! Although if I do that I tend to high step it because the people around where I live will speed up and come barreling at you. The cross walk signs are quick here and most intersections will turn red by the time you're half way across and you end up running the rest.

The only time I won't though is if I'm with my little niece, then you bet I'm waiting.

 

[Baradiel]

Why wouldn't I?

I'm genuinely confused about that question. There are no cars on the road, correct? Yet I would still have to press the button on a pelican crossing and wait for the green man/light to tell me to cross?

Bullshit. I'm aware 'jaywalking' is a crime in some places, but if it was a crime here (hint: it isn't) I'd do it anyway. It always seemed like a ridiculous law anyway.

 

[dystopiaINC]

ok i may be ignorant here but are we talking about the red/green walk lights or just red traffic lights? because i always cross when the traffic light is red, but the intersections around here don't have that pedestrian light. plus for some reason people never stop for you if you are waiting in the cross walk.

 

[fenrizz]

I almost always walk on a red light if there are no cars coming.

Except for when I have my kids with me, need to set a good example for them.
Learn them to always respect the lights.

 

[Optional Opinion]

I believe it's called Jaywalking in America, over here (England) it's not a crime.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I wait. If the walk signal isn't up then the light is programmed to potentially change any second and thus you could have cars going through or be in the middle of traffic.

 

[Llil]

Where are the 15 people who voted the first option? So far I've only seen the "are you serous, why wouldn't I?" -comments.

ok i may be ignorant here but are we talking about the red/green walk lights or just red traffic lights? because i always cross when the traffic light is red, but the intersections around here don't have that pedestrian light. plus for some reason people never stop for you if you are waiting in the cross walk.

Yes, the pedestrian lights. You don't have them on intersections in where you live? That's strange.

 

[dystopiaINC]

Where are the 15 people who voted the first option? So far I've only seen the "are you serous, why wouldn't I?" -comments.

ok i may be ignorant here but are we talking about the red/green walk lights or just red traffic lights? because i always cross when the traffic light is red, but the intersections around here don't have that pedestrian light. plus for some reason people never stop for you if you are waiting in the cross walk.

Yes, the pedestrian lights. You don't have them on intersections in where you live? That's strange.

i live in the suburbs in Massachusetts and i only see them sparingly in larger cities.

 

[Kais86]

Only if I'm in a hurry and I don't see any cars, or if the lights don't change for over a minute.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Do it in a car, and the red light cameras will catch you and politely mail you a ticket.

Do it by foot, and you only get caught if a cop is there. In that case, you wouldn't be walking anyway because one of the requirements to cross in the first place is for no cars to be there.

This is why people do it.

I know I asked why people do it, and that's probably the reason for most. But what it's saying is that it's okay to break any rules when it's easy to get away with it. And that doesn't sound too good to me.

Lol. I've crossed the street meters away from cops quite frequently. They don't give a shit. Then again, the countries I've done it in don't actually have any laws still in effect about pedestrians crossing the road. (OK, so Australia has jay-walking laws in some states that still exist, but the last time anyone was charged was about 1978 or so.)

Meanwhile, in the netherlands they replaced a set of traffic lights with a crossing where the basic rule was: pedestrians always have right of way.

You wanna know what happened? A large reduction in the number of accidents, AND improved traffic flow. XD

- Then again, this is in the same country where, in an accident between a car and a bicycle, the person in the car is ALWAYS at fault, regardless of how insane the cyclist was being...


(Or, to summarise, jay-walking isn't a crime in any country I've actually lived in.)

 

[RoonMian]

Simply, they cross in spite of a red light because they feel they are above the rules. It's a lack of impulse control showhing in that they don't care for the responsible thing to do because it contradicts their desire to be quick at that moment.

Symptoms of growing narcissism in society.

 

[Llil]

i live in the suburbs in Massachusetts and i only see them sparingly in larger cities.

I live in a small city myself (tiny by U.S. standards), but there's still pedestrian lights everywhere. I've never seen a crosswalk on an intersection without the pedestrian lights.

Meanwhile, in the netherlands they replaced a set of traffic lights with a crossing where the basic rule was: pedestrians always have right of way.

- Then again, this is in the same country where, in an accident between a car and a bicycle, the person in the car is ALWAYS at fault, regardless of how insane the cyclist was being...

(Or, to summarise, jay-walking isn't a crime in any country I've actually lived in.)

It is illegal in Finland and you can get a fine, but the police don't seem to care that much in here either. Unless you're being really reckless.

I don't know what the law says about a car hitting a pedestrian who's crossing on a red light. It probably still counts as the driver's fault, but I could be wrong.

 

[RaikuFA]

but, but my names not roxanne...

yes i had to do it

 

[Baradiel]

I don't know what the law says about a car hitting a pedestrian who's crossing on a red light. It probably still counts as the driver's fault, but I could be wrong.

I would imagine that it would be the driver's fault if it was a red light for traffic, regardless of whether the pedestrian was permitted to cross. Driver's have legal responsibility for their vehicle. Lets face it, if a pedestrian walked into a car, the driver wouldn't be at risk.

 

[Brandon237]

Almost none of the roads I cross have robots... so... I just go?
When there are robots, it depends on the speed of the traffic.

 

[Yopaz]

Driving on a red light is a crime. Walking on a red light isn't safe. Red lights is a safety precaution for pedestrians. We get the road all for ourselves when it's green, if we have the road all to ourselves on a red light, why not?
However there are some places where I wont walk on red because I can't see all directions. There's also a few places here where green light for pedestrians doesn't mean there's a red light for all cars going the same direction. So there's perfectly legal drivers who are driving where the pedestrians are crossing. They really need to fix that...

 

[TheDooD]

I've done this quite a lot yet at the same time I had a few close calls of being hit. It's a 50/50 chance I say stop, listen, then run like hell.

 

[Geamo]

I do occasionally when there is literally nothing for a while, or if there's a bunch of people already starting to cross, my thinking being they'll sheild me from any cars.

However, if i'm approaching a crossing where it says not to cross and there are parents with children there, I always wait. Got to set an example.