From early childhood, parents instill in their children the main rules of behavior on the road, tell when the carriageway can be crossed, and when not, they say that the most important thing on the road is attentiveness, not fussiness. Learning the rules of the road (hereinafter SDA) is sometimes carried out in a playful way: quizzes with questions in the kindergarten, educational books and drawings, even models of puppet traffic lights - all this helps the kid remember the basic information that is likely to save his life.
Although the majority of traffic rules concern, rather, the driver who is driving the car, without the competent behavior of pedestrians when crossing the carriageway, these rules would be meaningless. Their updates occur annually (rarely - several times a year), therefore, for greater confidence in their safety, they should be monitored by all road users.
What are pedestrians?
It will be correct to say that they include all people who move on foot. If a person walks along the side of the road and pushes a bicycle next to him, he is a pedestrian. If he stopped walking, got on a vehicle and drove off - it means he has already become a full-fledged participant in the traffic, in this case a cyclist.
Pedestrians are people in wheelchairs or roller skates. As well as leading a moped next to you. Therefore, it will be useful for everyone to know the rights and obligations of pedestrians.
It does not matter if you have any kind of transport with you - while you walk, you are a pedestrian. We give an example. Even if the bus driver leaves it to go to the nearest store and buy drinking water, then while he is standing on his own feet, he will be considered a pedestrian. What follows from this? That all the general responsibilities of pedestrians will apply to him too.
How to behave on the road?
Parents should explain these basics to their children from an early age. To find out how to behave correctly on the roadway with other road users, you need to look into the SDA collection. Pedestrian responsibilities there are described in a separate chapter, with a convenient division into subparagraphs. This is necessary for organizing information and quick memorization. But many will be surprised to start reading them. In fact, most of them have known all this information since childhood.
If you systematize the responsibilities of a pedestrian, briefly and succinctly formulate them, you can conditionally divide them all into the following groups:
- rules of conduct when crossing the carriageway;
- rules of conduct with vehicles;
- rules of conduct on the road in the dark.
What should a pedestrian know?
The roadbed is not a place for games and frivolous behavior. Knowledge of their duties and their compliance will allow the passenger to behave more confidently on the street.
We list the responsibilities of a pedestrian on the road:
- if there is no sidewalk or footpath, then you should move along the side of the road in the direction of traffic;
- a person is obliged to cross the road only by crossing or “zebra”, if they are not there, the carriageway is allowed to cross at intersections along the sidewalk or curb line;
- if there is no controlled passage, then a pedestrian can appear on the road only after he is convinced of his safety, that there is no fast moving car nearby and he will have time to cross before the vehicle arrives, and so on.
How should a pedestrian behave at night?
There are certain pedestrian responsibilities at night. This knowledge is usually ignored, considering it an unnecessary formality. However, the rules for the movement of pedestrians on the roadway at night were not drawn up by chance. Most traffic accidents happen just at night. The silhouette of the pedestrian may not be clearly visible, which may provoke the driver to make a fatal mistake.
A pedestrian’s obligations when crossing a road in the dark relate to the presence of any object with retroreflective (reflective) elements: stripes on a jacket, T-shirt or shirt, for example. The driver will never overlook such a pedestrian, even if he stands in the shade. Now there are many shops ready to help people in this matter: which items with reflective elements are not on sale!
How to get out of public transport?
There are rights and obligations of pedestrians when exiting public transport. Everyone must know them. A person, being at the bus stop, must also understand his rights and obligations, which are prescribed in the SDA. It is the duty of the pedestrian to exit the vehicle when leaving the vehicle only when the doors are opened. Do not rush, do not push, do not jump out of the vehicle, as soon as the doors slightly open. Do not ask the driver to stop in an inappropriate place. This is important not only because the driver himself can be fined for such a stop. Such requirements are explained by the fact that a passenger can get under the wheels of another vehicle, the driver of which in this situation did not wait for your appearance in the wrong place from the bus and did not have time to brake.
How to cross the road after getting off the bus?
When you managed to safely get out of transport, you need to carefully consider the method of crossing the roadway. If you were traveling by bus or trolley, you must cross the road behind him, but not in front. Following the driving cars should see your intention to cross the road.
If the pedestrian crosses the carriageway in front of the bus, the driver will not be able to make out and brake the vehicle following him in time. This may cause an accident.
A crowd of people at the bus stop is also undesirable. This applies especially to morning and evening hours, when most go to work. There is a risk that some pedestrians might be pushed onto the roadway due to a crush. If the driver of the vehicle does not have time to react and rebuild, then this situation will end badly.
Frequent pedestrian mistakes
Quite often, pedestrians neglect their duties, thereby jeopardizing the order of traffic. But most importantly, they endanger their own lives.
Quite often, people violate one of the main laws of traffic rules - the transition of the road only to the green light. Due to haste or simply unwillingness to stand in the cold for an extra minute, until the traffic light changes the color of the signal, they cross the road without completely noticing which light is on. It is unacceptable.
The second, no less serious mistake made by pedestrians is crossing the road in the wrong place. Cars have to slow down, letting a person running through the roadway, but if something happens, the fault for the accident will fall entirely on the pedestrian.
Dangers of a Crosswalk
Pedestrian traffic rules are designed in such a way that both he and car drivers can feel comfortable. Since they will be included in a clearly streamlined mechanism of the road, where all participants know their place and move smoothly and confidently. But, unfortunately, the opposite situation also occurs when traffic violations occur, and even the special transition “zebra” can be dangerous for a person.
All over the world, this part of the roadway is one of the safest for pedestrians. But in Russia, unfortunately, this is not so. Most accidents and hitting people occur precisely on the "zebra" due to the inability of drivers and pedestrians to behave rationally.
A pedestrian’s responsibilities are to remember: a “zebra” is part of the road that cars drive, sometimes at high speeds. Before you cross the road, you need to look around. After all, it may happen that, not noticing a fast racing car, you will begin to cross the road, and the driver will not be able to brake.
Having stepped one foot on the "zebra", the pedestrian should stop. Thus, he will demonstrate his intention to cross the road, and car drivers will be able to brake in time, letting him through.
Road signs to help pedestrians
Among the many road signs, there are those that can greatly facilitate life. It is also the duty of the pedestrian to know their insight.
Once at an unfamiliar intersection, any person is looking through their eyes for a sign of a pedestrian crossing: a little man is walking along a zebra in a white triangle on a blue background. It shows the places allowed to cross the road.
A crossed out little man in a red circle can only mean that the transition is strictly forbidden, as this can cause a danger to life (too busy traffic on the street, for example).
The sign of the underpass (the little man descends the stairs down) is also very useful. If the terrain is unfamiliar, but you see such a symbol, then you can not worry about how to cross the other side of the street.
Public transport stops are also marked with road signs: a bus, trolley bus or tram in a blue rectangle. Seeing such a symbol, you can stop and wait for the nearest carrier.
Teaching children traffic rules
As mentioned above, the child receives basic knowledge about the rules of the road in kindergarten or elementary grades. But parents, by their own example, should show the baby the skills to properly cross the street.
It’s sad to see how mom, grabbing her son’s hand, crosses the road at the red light of the traffic light. Do not forget that the roadway is not a playground for our children. It is worth teaching them this, instilling rules of behavior on the road and remembering them yourself.
Thus, the main responsibilities of a pedestrian are defined in the rules of the road. They must be observed by all, without exception, and remember that not only convenience, but sometimes life, depends on it.