The Highway Code states, ‘Pedestrians that have started to cross the side road have priority over vehicles turning into the side road’ but this rule remains largely ignored by most drivers. It’s a driving behaviour that is anti-social, dangerous and perpetuates the myth that motorised traffic always has the right of way over pedestrians and cyclists. And it’s ingrained to such an extent that it’s not unusual to see schoolchildren being admonished by motorists because they have crossed a side road without waiting for traffic to stop.
In mainland Europe, town planners have chosen to express the hierarchy of road user rights in concrete and for all to see. Blended crossings slow down vehicles when entering or exiting side roads and encourage vehicles to give way to pedestrians crossing the road, reinforcing the rules of the Highway Code.
Blended crossings radically change the appearance of the urban environment – it is clear to any driver wanting to turn into a side road that pedestrians and cyclists have priority.
As part of its 2020 Vision to dramatically increase walking and cycling, Walthamstow council has recently introduced a blended crossing, one of the first in Britain.
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The ETA has been rated as ethical in Britain for the second year running by the Good Shopping Guide.
Beating household-name insurance companies such as John Lewis and the Co-op, the ETA earned an ethical company index score of 89.
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Twenty six years on, it continues to offer cycle insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all it does.
John Fletcher
Ellesmere in Shropshire has had a blended crossing in the town centre since the 1990s. The only snag is that many pedestrians glare indignantly at motorists who have the temerity to use it to access the little one-way street; they misinterpret the layout as signifying “no vehicular access”. I guess they should be permitted their bit of ignorance when it’s set against the pig-ignorance of the average motorist regarding pedestrians’ rights.
Howard jones
Asserting ones rights as a pedestrian over motor traffic can be fatal, far better to exercise due caution, expect the unexpected and live, than have on one’s tombstone “I asserted my rights look where it got me.”
Penny Price
I am spending a few days in Denmark and have been able to cycle on their fabulous cycle network here. It is clear that the whole ethos of car driving is fundamentally different here, drivers are brought up with cyclists everywhere, and cyclists ( and pedestrians) have priority. I imagine most car drivers here are also cyclists. There has to be a complete change of attitude In the UK, we have to stop seeing cyclists as a nuisance. All UK town planners should come out here for a couple of days and cycle.
Jim Clark
Howard you get sworn at by a car driver who cuts the corner from one quiet street turning into another without signalling, the driver was incandescent with rage.