Does a pedestrian have to completely cross the street before you can drive on?

You’re waiting patiently at a zebra crossing. The pedestrian walking across has passed your car. Do you put your foot down and speed on ahead, or do you need to wait until they’ve reached the other side of the road before you carry on your journey?

Do you have to wait for a pedestrian to completely cross the street before you can drive?

The simple answer is yes. When you’ve stopped at a pedestrian crossing for a person to pass, you must remain stopped right up until that pedestrian has reached the other side of the road, regardless of whether they’re out of your path or not. 

I know this can be frustrating when you’re in a hurry to get somewhere or you feel like you’ve hit all the red lights on your journey, but there are no exceptions to the rule. Remaining stationary for the whole duration of a pedestrian crossing is the official word from every road safety body in the country, regardless of state. 

Does the answer change between different crossings?

Another straight no. There are several different types of crossings, and in every instance pedestrians have right of way if they approach the crossing at the same time as a vehicle. 

Pelican Crossings

Just to get you up to speed with the menagerie of different crossings, a pelican crossing is your standard pedestrian crossing with traffic lights. ‘Stop at the red light’, ‘Go when the light turns green’ – these are surely phrases etched into our memory since childhood. And yet there does seem to be some contention still around when drivers are allowed to go again.

A reminder, dear drivers, that amber effectively means the same as red: stop. Amber is purely a signal to both drivers and passengers that the light is about to go from green to red. And yes, you can be penalised if you drive through an amber light if there was clearly time to stop prior. 

Bottom line is, your car needs to remain stationary until the light turns green, and all pedestrians are completely off the road. 

Zebra Crossing with a Pedestrian Refuge

Although not super common, this is when a zebra crossing has an island in the middle breaking the crossing in half, allowing for people to cross the road in two stages. 

However, it’s important to note that this refuge island is an optional stop for pedestrians, so the same road rules apply: stop for a person to cross and stay still until said person has reached the other side.

Intersections

Road rules around intersections can cause some confusion for drivers at the best of times, let alone if there’s a pedestrian involved. But the rule of thumb is, pedestrians have the right of way unless a traffic controller or police person demonstrates otherwise. If an intersection doesn’t have any signs at all, you must give way to any pedestrians crossing the road that you’re turning into. This is the same whether you’re turning left or right. 

You also need to give way to pedestrians when you’re turning left or right at a ‘Give Way’ or ‘Stop’ sign.

Children’s Crossings

Children’s crossings tend to only operate during school hours unless clarified otherwise. A children’s crossing will be marked by orange flags on both sides, which will be raised when the crossing is in operation. Operations at a children’s crossing are really no different from a regular pedestrian crossing: the driver must slow down before the white stripes in order to give way to crossing pedestrians (children or not!). 

Often you’ll see a school crossing supervisor (fondly known as a lollipop lady or man) at a children’s crossing, who will give you exact instructions as to when you can start travelling again.

When the flags aren’t raised, the crossing is still a pedestrian crossing, so the same rules apply. 

So, there are definitely no exceptions to the rule?

Sorry to burst the bubbles of any drivers in a rush, but next time you stop at a pedestrian crossing to allow for a person to cross, you absolutely must wait for that person to get to the other side of the road before you move again – even if they’re out of your path. The penalty for not adhering to this rule is dependent on the individual circumstance, but can lead to a significant on-the-spot fine and up to three demerit points. 

Worth all that just to get somewhere 20 seconds sooner? No, probably not.   

The post Does a pedestrian have to completely cross the street before you can drive on? appeared first on Drive.