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You should always be very careful when crossing the road.
It only takes one lapse of concentration from you, or from a
driver, for someone to get seriously injured. There are some very
simple guidelines to follow that will make crossing the road much
safer.Always try to find a safe crossing place, such as a
footbridge or subway, or a crossing controlled by lights. These are
usually sited at very busy roads, and are the safest way of
crossing.There are now several different forms of light controlled
crossings, and each works slightly differently. Traffic islands and
traffic lights can be used, but watch out for strange traffic flows
(such as one way streets), and turning traffic. Some junctions
controlled by traffic lights may have a pedestrian phase included,
usually where there is heavy traffic.
If you have to cross between parked cars, follow these simple
guidelines:
- Choose a place where there is a space between two cars and make
sure that it is easy to get to the other side of the road.
- Make sure neither car is about to move off - look for drivers
in the cars, lights, and listen for engines.
- Walk to the outside edge of the cars and stop. Here you can
look all round for traffic.
- When it is clear, cross, still looking and listening as you
go.
How to use pedestrian and cycle crossings
There are four different types of light-controlled pedestrian
and cycle crossings:
Zebra crossing
- Stop at the kerb at the crossing.
- Wait for the traffic to stop.
- When the traffic has stopped, walk across but keep looking and
listening in case a driver has not seen the crossing and tries to
overtake a car which has stopped. Always cross on the stripes, as
many crashes happen close to zebra crossings.
- If the crossing has an island in the middle of it, stop there
and wait for the traffic on the other side of the island to stop
before you continue to cross.
Pelican crossing
- Stop at the kerb at the crossing.
- Press the button and wait for the 'green man' signal to light
up. Never cross while the 'red man' is showing. When the 'green
man' shows, check that vehicles are stopping, then walk across.
Keep looking and listening in case a driver has not seen the
crossing and does not stop.
- When the 'green man' starts to flash on and off, the traffic
will soon start moving, so stay on the pavement. If you have
already started to cross, you will have time to finish
crossing.
- If it is a 'staggered' crossing there will be another signal on
the traffic island. Stop and press the signal button to get the
'green man' again before crossing the second part of the
road.
Puffin crossing
A Puffin crossing is similar to a Pelican crossing, but it has
the 'red man' and 'green man' signals on the near side, rather than
on the other side of the road. It also has two detectors. One,
often a black mat, can tell when people are waiting to cross, and
will not stop the traffic if nobody is waiting. The other controls
the red light signal to drivers, so people have enough time to
cross.
- Stand on the mat if there is one, or about one pace back from
the kerb if there isn't.
- Press the button. Do not start to cross if the 'red man' is
showing. When the 'green man' shows and you are sure that the
traffic is stopping, go straight across, looking and listening. If
the crossing is staggered, treat each half as a separate
crossing.
- The signals will stay red for drivers until you get safely
across; keep looking and listening in case a driver doesn't
stop.
Toucan crossing
The Toucan crossing is a shared signal-controlled crossing to
assist both pedestrians and cyclists to cross the road. Crossing
time is monitored by detectors, and varies to ensure time is given
for both pedestrians and cyclists to cross, before allowing traffic
to move.
- Stop at the crossing. When you see the 'red man and red cycle'
signal you must not cross, as traffic is being given a green light.
Press the button on the box and wait for the 'green man and green
cycle' to appear.
- Do not start to cross if the 'red man and red cycle'' is
showing. When the green signal for pedestrians and cyclists
appears, the traffic will be given a red light. Check the traffic
has stopped, then cross. Keep looking and listening in case a
driver has not seen the crossing, and does not stop.
- When the 'green man and green cycle' go out, if you have
already started to cross, keep going, as you will have enough time
to complete your crossing before the traffic starts to
move.
To find out more information about setting up a school crossing
patrol, visit the
school crossing patrol information. |