On Fri, 31 Aug 2018 15:10:59 +0100
TMS320 wrote:
On 31/08/18 13:13, NY wrote:

Being obliged to give way to pedestrians who are actually crossing (ie
they're already in the road) makes a lot of sense, on a best-endeavours
basis if not a legal obligation, just as you would do you best to avoid
someone crossing anywhere else. But does UK and US law actually require
you to stop for someone who is waiting on the pavement to cross: is
there a portion of every road junction which has *implicit*
zebra-crossing rules?

Whether or not it is law, I find a noticeable difference in culture. The
best we get in the UK is that it is wrong to run someone over that is
already crossing. Quite different to actual give way.

In the US, as mainland Europe, vehicles and pedestrians going straight
on at traffic lights are treated as equal and pedestrians have strict
priority over turning vehicles. They will get green lights at the same
time. In the UK, a pedestrian phase always turns vehicular traffic
lights red.

Which IMO is a good thing. Not all drivers stop for people on crossings so
you can guarantee they wouldn't stop if they had a green light.