Pedestrian Crossings

Pedestrian Crossings (controlled and uncontrolled).

You will use M-S,(brake light)-M.
There are two types of crossings as indicated above. Controlled crossings are controlled by traffic lights or lollypop people. Lollypop crossings will generally be near a school so look out for the school signs and the yellow zigzag line on the road and children, if you see these signs slow down and pay attention. Traffic lights are controlled by the colour of light being shown. The earlier we see the crossing the better, as this means plenty of time to anticipate how we need to react to it, depending on the stage the lights are at. Uncontrolled crossings are zebra crossings, with a flashing amber beacon on each path and a black and white crossing area on the road. All crossings have zigzag lines that should be kept clear at all times. If there is an island on the zebra crossing each side of the island can be treated as a separate crossings, this means one crossing with an island is two separate crossings.
The procedure for approaching any crossing is the same; when you see the crossing, the first thing to do is check your interior and left door mirror, come off of your gas and cover the brake. Remember; use the left door mirror for slowing down and right for increasing speed.

Then it’s time to look at the crossing more closely. You must check for anyone approaching, standing or walking across. If someone is approaching a zebra crossing or standing at it then you should slow down and stop, which will show your brake light signal. Secure the car until the pedestrian is on the kerb or the island; if it is clear then you can go. On a controlled crossing you would do the same but instead of stopping regardless you would let the lights direct you, telling you whether it is appropriate to stop or go remember a solid amber light is as you approach means slow down and stop unless you have to brake harshly. If you anticipate lights by seeing them early you make it all much safer, and if they are red you can slow down early so that if they change back to green and you can avoid stopping completely. If they are green but you see someone around them, then prepare to stop. If you see a pedestrian on the road (or if they are about to step into the road), treat them like they are on a crossing. Stop and secure the car, then when they are on the path, it is safe to go. Remember, anticipation is the key to good driving. You can avoid accidents and stopping needlessly, with early recognition of the road and kerbs ahead, so look ahead as far as you can, unless there is something closer to deal with. There are other types of controlled areas, such as junctions and level (train) crossings. We deal with these in the same way.

Meeting Oncoming Traffic and passing parked vehicles
When passing parked cars, check you mirrors as you should with seeing any hazard, and use your normal road position reference point- put it where the parked car tyres meet the road. This means if someone opens the car door you will not hit it. If this obstruction is reducing the size of the road as you approach it and oncoming traffic, assess the size of the gap while slowing down. Look for gaps and places to pass oncoming cars. If there is room for two cars to get through and you can’t put your normal position reference point where the tyres meet the road then slow down, give yourself more time to react and deal with the smaller gap.

If the obstruction is on your side of the road, then the oncoming traffic has priority. If it’s on the right then you assume priority, but look where the oncoming is positioned; if they look like they are coming through they may well be. If the obstruction is on both sides just take care as no one has priority. If you are happy to let someone through then position yourself to the left, but don’t flash or wave at them as they may assume you are indicating it is safe and they may not look for themselves. Do not indicate when passing anything that is not moving. If it is stopped you are passing, if it is moving you are over taking which does require a signal.