Pedestrians at night

SpeedFreak

SpeedFreak

SpeedFreak

Soldato
Joined
14 Nov 2002
Posts
7,774
Location
Under the Hill
I felt pretty bad tonight, driving home I completely missed a pedestrian waiting at a zebra crossing and drove across it while she was waiting to cross.

Hands up, I should have seen her and if an accident had occured I would have been at fault. That would have been of little consolation to her. It was dark, poorly lit and she was head to toe in black with her hood up. I guess my point is that as a pedestrian, when walking in dark areas you should dress to ensure that you are as visible as possible.

It's not a rant, I will most likely get flamed/called a bad driver, so take it as a note to be even more vigilent of pedestrians now that the nights have set in and if walking in unlit areas choose appropriate clothing.
 
It's ridiculous at the moment. Most peds don't realise how visible they are in the daylight compared to the night, and when winter hits they still dress the same which makes them invisible. As soon as it starts getting dark, start wearing brighter stuff, because it is harder to see you.

But that would involve using their brains, and let's be honest, most people are so obsessed with their phones / tweets / kids / whatever that survival instincts are the last thing on their mind.
 
Wow, if only every driver in Brussels shared your conscience. What you did is what 99% of drivers do in this godforsaken city during the day. One woman drove across the crossing while I was crossing with a pram. She didn't even look.

I usually shout sorry if I don't spot a pedestrian waiting and don't stop for them. I like to think they can hear me :o

Cyclists with no lights wearing black. FUUUUUUUUU
 
SpeedFreak said:
I felt pretty bad tonight, driving home I completely missed a pedestrian waiting at a zebra crossing and drove across it while she was waiting to cross.

Hands up, I should have seen her and if an accident had occured I would have been at fault. That would have been of little consolation to her. It was dark, poorly lit and she was head to toe in black with her hood up. I guess my point is that as a pedestrian, when walking in dark areas you should dress to ensure that you are as visible as possible.

It's not a rant, I will most likely get flamed/called a bad driver, so take it as a note to be even more vigilent of pedestrians now that the nights have set in and if walking in unlit areas choose appropriate clothing.
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It definitely wouldn't have been your fault, not legally anyway if she was dressed head to toe in black.
 
OpenToSuggestions said:
Was she waiting on the pavement til you had completely passed? If so she must have realised you didn't see her.

Cycling with no lights and no reflective clothing? Oooof - Yeah I went there!
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Quite possibly she was aware that I wasn't slowing and hung back, proabably from experience if she regularly crosses in the same place at night (and wears black!)
 
SpeedFreak said:
I felt pretty bad tonight, driving home I completely missed a pedestrian waiting at a zebra crossing and drove across it while she was waiting to cross.

Hands up, I should have seen her and if an accident had occured I would have been at fault. That would have been of little consolation to her. It was dark, poorly lit and she was head to toe in black with her hood up. I guess my point is that as a pedestrian, when walking in dark areas you should dress to ensure that you are as visible as possible.

It's not a rant, I will most likely get flamed/called a bad driver, so take it as a note to be even more vigilent of pedestrians now that the nights have set in and if walking in unlit areas choose appropriate clothing.
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Simple fact of life, we learn from our mistakes.

You have learned, it was a good lesson, people are idiots and do nothing to help you so you have to look out for yourself.

Don't feel too bad, just take a lot more care.

As a side note, I get people run out onto a zebra crossing in front of a fully loaded bus as they run straight out of the coffee shop... That is scary I can tell you!
 
uber soldat said:
Is there any other type of cyclist?






(Went there +1 )
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One in lycra with a small pulsar aimed at driver eye level set to "epileptic fit" on the strobe function.....


(Went there +2)




On a more serious note, once nearly ran someone over, at 11pm, in midwinter, on a country road, he was wearing full dpm.

I somehow feel that's a bit beyond the realms of normal stupidity, thank god he had a labrador because i saw that first, that dog saved his life.
 
I had an encounter, one night about 11PM I went for a little drive down a NSL road.

https://goo.gl/maps/TfPD5enNqvH2 - Here to be exact.

Coming down over one of the hills I noticed a guy, walking (well, trying to in his drunken state) with the flow of traffic I was absolutely shocked that was until I saw a car going the other way at ~70mph (towards him), I flashed them so many times I'm hoping they weren't epileptic. I think without warning it could have ended badly.
 
I nearly hit one a few months ago, 11pm, he walked straight out in front of me, head to toe in black. Totally moronic.
 
Short of high vis not sure it makes much odds - most of my clothing is fairly dark though I'm not the sort to just step out without looking when crossing a road.
 
It's a tricky one. I sort of agree, but I can't remember the last time I saw a brightly coloured coat in the stores. You just get browns, navy blues and blacks.
 
You get either/or here. No lights on cycle and black lycra cause they "dont want to mess with their style and lights add extra weight don't you know?"

Or you get ones who have bought 5m candle strobing leds which are set above eye level and totally blind you that you have to stop to avoid a crash as you cant see where you are going
 
They can be a menace even during the day, I drive through a narrow busy high street on my commute, there is a zebra crossing and traffic lights to cross at, but you still get people blindly stepping out from behind vans and other cars to cross the road because they cant be bothered to walk 10ft to the crossing. that high street has a 20mph speed limit and its a damn good thing too!
 
mjt said:
Cyclists with no lights wearing black. FUUUUUUUUU
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I very nearly hit one a few years ago on a country road who was dressed in black, no hi-vis, no lights. You just couldn't see him until you were right on him. Especially with headlights coming the other way.
 
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Most clothing tends to be of more darker colours.

Whenever i'm out walking and get to one of those crossings, i actually wait for the cars to stop (even in daylight). It's just not worth putting your life in someone else's hands when they may not see you/be paying attention.
 
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