Zelda looks lonely
Oct. 21st, 2011 11:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ventaToday's question: Would you, as a pedestrian, expect a cyclist to stop at a zebra crossing?
(Yes, I know a cyclist on a road should behave like traffic and is therefore legally obliged to stop for a zebra[*]. I'm asking about what you expect, in the real world, to actually happen. And what your reaction would be if they were to stop.)
My experiences of the only zebra I interact with on my work commute with have been quite strange. The crossing is on a reasonably quiet road mostly, though not exclusively, used by buses, vans, small lorries and bikes. It happens reasonably regularly that someone approaches the crossing and I am the only item of traffic. Being well-behaved, I stop.
The crosser often looks confused or surprised. Which is fair enough, as I imagine that bikes don't always stop.
The crosser frequently steps back from the crossing, and tries to wave me across in front of them. This seems plain weird to me. It often leads to a lot of dithering as we try to decide who's going to go first.
Very occasionally, the crosser shouts vague abuse at me as they cross (along the "Why on earth are you stopping?", "What did you do that for?" lines). They do seem genuinely put out rather than pleased. This is also quite weird.
This morning, I stopped at the crossing so that someone could ride their bike over it and along the pavement. I then continued on my way and turned right to join him on the Oracle Riverside cyclepath. Ah, well.
[*] Checking this morning, I was briefly very confused by the following line in the Highway Code:
Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across.
I guess they mean that I must not ride across a zebra in a direction orthogonal to the stripes :)
(Yes, I know a cyclist on a road should behave like traffic and is therefore legally obliged to stop for a zebra[*]. I'm asking about what you expect, in the real world, to actually happen. And what your reaction would be if they were to stop.)
My experiences of the only zebra I interact with on my work commute with have been quite strange. The crossing is on a reasonably quiet road mostly, though not exclusively, used by buses, vans, small lorries and bikes. It happens reasonably regularly that someone approaches the crossing and I am the only item of traffic. Being well-behaved, I stop.
The crosser often looks confused or surprised. Which is fair enough, as I imagine that bikes don't always stop.
The crosser frequently steps back from the crossing, and tries to wave me across in front of them. This seems plain weird to me. It often leads to a lot of dithering as we try to decide who's going to go first.
Very occasionally, the crosser shouts vague abuse at me as they cross (along the "Why on earth are you stopping?", "What did you do that for?" lines). They do seem genuinely put out rather than pleased. This is also quite weird.
This morning, I stopped at the crossing so that someone could ride their bike over it and along the pavement. I then continued on my way and turned right to join him on the Oracle Riverside cyclepath. Ah, well.
[*] Checking this morning, I was briefly very confused by the following line in the Highway Code:
Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across.
I guess they mean that I must not ride across a zebra in a direction orthogonal to the stripes :)
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no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 10:24 am (UTC)In Ips we have a load of toucan crossings, and I think these have led cyclists (including me sometimes) to treat pelicans as the same.
But in answer to your main question, Not usually, but if not I will happily step out in front of them, make them swerve, and shout at them. I am turning grumpier and grumpier.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 10:32 am (UTC)My work commute is along a wide shared use pavement/cycle path beside the A33. Most of the crossings are toucans, but some are pelicans. I must admit I ride across the pelicans too, because it makes absolutely no sense otherwise.
If I ever meet a pedestrian on such a crossing, I promise to dismount!