Who's in the right here ?

[Brian k]

Hmm thank you for all the replies..... I should have made it clearer from the start I guess... but this old lady was in a world of her own. She was going to walk across that crossing whether I stoped or not. As far as she was concerned she had right of way and was on a pedestrian crossing. You could just see she had her eyes fixed on it and away she went. I had no choice but to stop......

 

[renault12ts]

Hmm thank you for all the replies..... I should have made it clearer from the start I guess... but this old lady was in a world of her own. She was going to walk across that crossing whether I stoped or not. As far as she was concerned she had right of way and was on a pedestrian crossing. You could just see she had her eyes fixed on it and away she went. I had no choice but to stop......

That's a little different. You could only stop. Golf boy would have been confused as many many would have been also. She was in the wrong...and lucky to have survived.

 

[E55BOF]

I'd have either stopped, or crept past; there must be a reason why another car has stopped...

 

[flowrider]

Seems to me you were all at fault to varying degrees. By stopping on a green light you were driving irresponsibly, by not pressing the button at the crossing and just stepping out the lady was careless and the Golf driver should have driven more cautiously but he/she could argue that your car blocked the view and they had a green light. IMO the golf driver would have been the least at fault if they had not left the scene.

 

[neilrr]

but this old lady was in a world of her own. She was going to walk across that crossing whether I stoped or not. As far as she was concerned she had right of way and was on a pedestrian crossing. You could just see she had her eyes fixed on it and away she went. I had no choice but to stop......

That's pure speculation. You stopping on a green light is the cause of this near tragedy.

 

[leef44]

I didn't think that anyone has 'right of way' on any road.
But all traffic should give way to pedestrians.
I would have done the same as you, but been racked with guilt had anything happened to her.

In the OP's case, he had no choice but to stop since she had already started walking out in front of his car. But other than that, I would not stop for someone at a DUAL CARRIAGEWAY given the option, since you have no control of traffic in the outer lane.

 

[Vintage Racer]

I blame the shopping trolley!


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[Cubase]

You reacted to the hazard you saw. If the worst had happened, you would not be culpable in any way. Not least because you were stationary.

Golf guy would be in serious trouble, but a court might(?) portion some of the blame to the old lady.

 

[Rayny]

It was a public highway, so you all had 'right of way'.
The question is -'Who had priority?'
The Golf driver, overtaking on a pedestrian crossing, should be taken off the road for a while!

 

[flowrider]

In the OP's case, he had no choice but to stop since she had already started walking out in front of his car. But other than that, I would not stop for someone at a DUAL CARRIAGEWAY given the option, since you have no control of traffic in the outer lane.

The old lady hadn't stepped in front of the OP's car, he stated he saw her moving towards the crossing and assumed she was going to cross the road. The OP had already stopped his car before the lady reached the crossing.

 

[Markssl]

The Golf driver all day long. Reckless driving no excuses.
Well done by the way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[clk320x]

Golf driver is a ***** regardless if he had any awareness he would have thought why is there a car stopped in the ****ing road... obviously there must be a reason

 

[Saaby]

Not quite the same situation but....old lady with shopping trolley walking toward zebra crossing, got the trolley on the crossing only for it to be be hit by a car and sent off down the road. Car carried on, stopping 50 yds down the road for the driver to get out and leg it. Violet, I found out her name in the paper later, had fallen face down in the road and died a month later. The driver had panicked after he'd hit the trolley and ran off.
Now I can't remember what he was charged with but it makes me approach any crossing with caution whether there's someone on it or even near it.

 

[Giantvanman]

Fact is, whether it's a 20mph side road or even a multi-lane motorway where pedestrians are not allowed, pedestrians have the right of way.....they are at the top of the "vulnerable user" pyramid, if I can refer to it like that.

Something to keep in mind is this:-

Rule 207
Particularly vulnerable pedestrians. These include:

• children and older pedestrians who may not be able to judge your speed and could step into the road in front of you. At 40 mph (64 km/h) your vehicle will probably kill any pedestrians it hits. At 20 mph (32 km/h) there is only a 1 in 20 chance of the pedestrian being killed. So kill your speed
• older pedestrians who may need more time to cross the road. Be patient and allow them to cross in their own time. Do not hurry them by revving your engine or edging forward
• people with disabilities. People with hearing impairments may not be aware of your vehicle approaching. Those with walking difficulties require more time
• blind or partially sighted people, who may be carrying a white cane using a guide dog. They may not be able to see you approaching
• deafblind people who may be carrying a white cane with a red band or using a dog with a red and white harness. They may not see or hear instructions or signals.

Implicit in that are slightly 'away-in-their-own-world-old ladies' and the OP most definitely did the correct thing by stopping when it was clear to him she was going to step out.

The ONLY villain in this scenario is the Golf driver. Not only did he/she overtake a vehicle on the approach to a crossing, he/she did not have the common sense to add two and two together i.e. why would a car be slowing/stopping when the light is green- I better exercise some caution here until I can see what's what.

Final point quoted directly from the Highway Code (note the first and last part of the sentence)
"GREEN means you may go on if the way is clear. Take special care if you intend to turn left or right and give way to pedestrians who are crossing"

 

[Ted]

This just reminded me of something many years ago.
Beautiful sunny day, Triumph Stag, top down. Old lady about to cross the road.
Me being the nice chap I am, stopped to let her cross (one way street, so no oncoming traffic)
As she s l o w l y crossed, she turned to us, said "f*ck off" and carried on her merry way

 

[Druk]

This just reminded me of something many years ago.
Beautiful sunny day, Triumph Stag, top down. Old lady about to cross the road.
Me being the nice chap I am, stopped to let her cross (one way street, so no oncoming traffic)
As she s l o w l y crossed, she turned to us, said "f*ck off" and carried on her merry way

That was my mum.




.

 

[Mustang99]

both are right in their own way

 

[grober]

Old people what are they like EH! ----well not like young people obviously----- who have been known on occasion to key your paintwork, spray acid in your face from an unlicenced moped, throw half empty beer bottles at your windscreen, trash your wing mirrors for fun, and if you are extremely lucky throw a concrete block on you from an overpass. In their favour they are unlikely to delay you at a pedestrain crossing- unless they intend to rob you at gun/knife point of course.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

both are right in their own way

Go on then, tell us specifically what the Golf driver did which was right.

 

[renault12ts]

Go on then, tell us specifically what the Golf driver did which was right.

She's alive. He sacrificed 100 points.