I was almost wiped out by a texting driver while I was on a pedestrian crossing (green for me) last week on my way to work. I swear that she didn’t even know I was there, before, during or after she drove on. Eyes literally never left the screen. I can imagine if I’d been elderly, I wouldn’t have been able to react as quickly. I had to properly scoot out of the way.
I was hinting at this yesterday in another thread.
The fine (if it goes to court) in the UK for using your phone whilst at the wheel of your car, with the engine running (so even at traffic lights or in a traffic jam) can be up to £1000 and a driving ban.
If it doesn’t go to court it’s £200 plus six points on your licence (12 points and it’s a ban).
Mobile phone (and other distractions*) use causes more accidents than anything else including speeding and alcohol consumption).
Pedestrian crossings are no longer the safe way of crossing a road as they used to be and, in my opinion, there ought to be a massive advertising campaign telling everyone not to cross until vehicles have actually stopped.
(I nearly got run over crossing on one last week too).
- I saw a video of a breakdown recovery after a woman had crashed and the driver’s seat was smeared with an assortment of make-up so it’s pretty obvious why she was distracted!
Here’s another crossing hit from today:
An accident occurred on a pedestrian crossing on Monday afternoon around 3 pm.
A 60-year-old woman was driving her car on the main road in Au towards Heerbrugg. According to her own statement, she saw an 81-year-old woman too late who wanted to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing.
The 81-year-old sustained minor injuries in the accident and was taken to hospital by the ambulance service.
Why did she see the woman crossing too late?
And one from last week:
On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, a traffic accident occurred in Naters in which a pedestrian was killed.
The accident happened on Bahnhofstrasse.
At approximately 5:45 p.m., the driver of a passenger car was traveling on Bahnhofstrasse from Naters towards Brig. At the Rhonemühle mill, a collision occurred at the pedestrian crossing for reasons that are still unclear.
And another:
On Monday evening (January 19, 2026) a collision occurred on Langgasse between a pedestrian and a driver.
The pedestrian was injured and taken to hospital by ambulance.
On Monday evening, shortly after 6:15 p.m., a 33-year-old driver was traveling outbound on Langgasse.
At the same time, a 28-year-old was crossing the pedestrian crossing near property number 41. A collision occurred between the crossing pedestrian and the driver traveling out of town.
The pedestrian fell to the ground. He sustained moderate injuries and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Why aren’t drivers paying attention? For those Trump-esque forum users, let’s not blame the pedestrians.
These are pedestrian crossings. If you see a pedestrian near a crossing then slow down and be prepared to stop. You’re in a two-tonne metal cage. They have nothing.
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Vehicles with higher (over 1m) and more vertical front ends, such as many SUVs, pickups, and vans, significantly increase pedestrian fatality risk by 45% compared to lower, sloped-front vehicles Taller hoods strike pedestrians higher on the body, causing more severe chest and head injuries, and often propel them forward rather than onto the bonnet.
Nothing new there, it’s been known for decades. I think that’s why the insurance for my ~25-y-o LR Defender is so high - it’s not just about the risk of an accident, it’s about the potential (cost of) consequences in the event of one.
Known but perhaps not proven.
A paper was published in 2024 which examined this issue closely and put some figures to the hypothesis.
But the more important point is that these high-fronted vehicles are now the norm which may be why pedestrian deaths are now on the increase in many countries.
That’s pure speculation though. Higher traffic volumes, more distractions (pedestrians or drivers on phone all the time), more reliance on ‘safety’ features leading to less observation… all of these are equally speculation, but just as likely IMV.
Not that I’m trying to defend the trend for these Chelsea Tractors, and let’s face it it’s not really a recent trend, been going on for 20 years or more now, but at least up here in the snowy mountains there is some justification, why people want them for town or motorway driving is beyond me.
No, it’s not. (I also used the word “may” rather than “is”)
One major factor in pedestrian death is the speed of the vehicle. There has been a marked downward trend in speed limits in towns and cities in Europe (where there are more pedestrians).
Another factor is bonnet height.
Bonnet height:
The risk of fatal injuries to vulnerable road users increases as the bonnet height of the vehicle hitting them increases. For example, a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a car with a bonnet 90 cm high runs a 30% greater risk of fatal injury than if hit by a vehicle with a bonnet 10 cm lower.
Pick-ups:
For a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a pick-up, the risk of serious injury increases by 90% and the risk of fatal injury by almost 200%.
Where they are needed most is where there are fewer pedestrians.
There are also calls to remove the loop-holes which allow massive US pickups to be imported individually even though they are banned in many countries for a “type” import.
Could of sworn it was internet mobile surfing or wearing head phones with loud music?
It seems children under 10YO and adults 65+ YO are addicted to the internet and headphones with loud music.
Age groups that have the highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities are children younger than 10 years of age and adults aged 65 and above.About 35 to 40% of the fatalities in these age groups were pedestrian fatalities; twice as much as the average percentage for all age groups.
Also boys will be boys…
While all children are vulnerable, some children are more at risk than others. There is some evidence of a gender correlation between road safety behaviour and crash involvement. In the United Kingdom, crash patterns for pedestrians reveal a consistently higher rate of incidence for boys than for girls under age 12. In the 5-11 age group, twice as many boys are likely to be killed or severely injured than girls.
FFS grandpa!!! Take those headphones off while crossing the street at your slow pace.
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Which is why it’s so important to have low speed limits in residential areas in towns and cities.
At 20 km/h, the risk of fatality is very low (less than 1% to 5%)
At 30 km/h, the fatality risk increases to approximately 5%–10%
At 50 km/h there is a 70%–80% chance of death.
With a pickup or SUV, the likelihood of death is even higher.
Yeah, let’s blame it on anything other than the drivers. Same old. Same old…
It’s not just humans.
Yesterday, this driver missed the pedestrian on the crossing but hit her dog on a lead:
On Tuesday morning, February 10, 2026, a dog was hit by a car and seriously injured on a pedestrian crossing in Ramsen.
The unknown driver left the scene of the accident after the collision without stopping.
At approximately 7:25 a.m., a pedestrian and her leashed dog crossed the pedestrian crossing on Moscow Street in Ramsen.
A car approaching from the direction of the Ramsen customs office passed the pedestrian and hit the dog, which was on a leash behind her.
Without attending to the injured dog or stopping, the driver continued on his way.
The dog suffered serious injuries in the collision.