Shocker: Pedestrians Have Right of Way
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So here I am, studying for yet another test - this time the DSA Theory Test. And after five years of walking around London, I've learned something truly new: if the green man is on the scene, pedestrians have the right of way.
Are you kidding me?
I lived near High Street Kensington for more than three years. Every day I was on those busy streets, yielding to cars and lorries who were turning right or left onto the street I was crossing. Every day I would look at the green 'WALK' sign and wonder how on earth such a thing could be.
And I wasn't alone, everyone else was waiting too.
It never occurred to me that London was actually a pedestrian-friendly city (aside from the tourist-saving LOOK LEFT and LOOK RIGHT signs). But here it is in the Highway Code:
170. Take extra care at junctions. You should: watch out for pedestrians crossing a road onto which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way.
And then, of course, there's the crazy Pelican crossing, which (in case you've forgotten) simultaneously flashes an amber light and a green man at the end of the designated pedestrian-crossing opportunity.
196. When the amber light is flashing, you MUST give way to any pedestrian in the crossing. If the amber light is flashing and there are no pedestrians on the crossing, you may proceed with caution.
Proceed with caution! As a pedestrian I have learned to return to the kerb if I value my life. Forget making it across any street with more than one lane.
But much as I'd like to, I'm not going to take my new-found knowledge to the street and hold a hand up to the next car that crosses me.
I'll just quietly shake my head and feel slightly superior.
Unless I fail the test, of course.
I lived near High Street Kensington for more than three years. Every day I was on those busy streets, yielding to cars and lorries who were turning right or left onto the street I was crossing. Every day I would look at the green 'WALK' sign and wonder how on earth such a thing could be.
And I wasn't alone, everyone else was waiting too.
It never occurred to me that London was actually a pedestrian-friendly city (aside from the tourist-saving LOOK LEFT and LOOK RIGHT signs). But here it is in the Highway Code:
170. Take extra care at junctions. You should: watch out for pedestrians crossing a road onto which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way.
And then, of course, there's the crazy Pelican crossing, which (in case you've forgotten) simultaneously flashes an amber light and a green man at the end of the designated pedestrian-crossing opportunity.
196. When the amber light is flashing, you MUST give way to any pedestrian in the crossing. If the amber light is flashing and there are no pedestrians on the crossing, you may proceed with caution.
Proceed with caution! As a pedestrian I have learned to return to the kerb if I value my life. Forget making it across any street with more than one lane.
But much as I'd like to, I'm not going to take my new-found knowledge to the street and hold a hand up to the next car that crosses me.
I'll just quietly shake my head and feel slightly superior.
Unless I fail the test, of course.
Here Is The Writer : Sarah Western Balzer
Sarah Western Balzer is the managing director of HITC Life and is always on the lookout for reader-writers, so if you'd like to be one, make yourself known (sarah.western@hereisthecity.com). Sarah moved to London six years ago from New York but is originally from Florida, and still suntans like it's 1989. She is so grateful to the banker who introduced her to Here Is The City that she married him, and they live in Wapping with their son.
view more articles by Sarah Western Balzer
Article Comments & Ratings
MrSMartinPants 4th Feb, 2:25pm
You want to don the Lycra and start cycling in London
That way, you get to be subjected to danger from both pedestrians and cars...
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