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At least in Ontario, Canada you have as much time as you need to make forward progress once you legally enter the intersection. Or something like that. But th

At least in Ontario, Canada you have as much time as you need to make forward progress once you legally enter the intersection. Or something like that. But the light is there to indicate it is allowed to enter, not how long you have.

CraigJPerry 9y ago
Same in the uk - green doesn't mean go, it means go if it's clear. Pedestrians can take all week to cross if they want. Drivers will honk their horns for sure but legally the peds have right of way.
- netrus 9y ago
  Same in Germany. In Hamburg, the Critical Mass bikers make use of this trick: They are cycling as one large group, and thus are treated like a single vehicle (a special rule, intended for groups of bike racers): once the first biker is on the crossing, everyone behind them can follow, even if the lights go red. in the summer, several thousand bikers participate!
- wil421 9y ago
  Same where I am in the US. If they are in the crosswalk they still have right of way. In my area they have special blinking lights near crosswalks by heavy traffic areas. You press a button to walk and it comes on instantly, speed limit is only 35 mph. There is also a special pedestrian only red light button for major road crossings. No cars use the light and it only turns on for people walking.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
konschubert 9y ago
Same in Germany. The problem is that many car drivers don't know this. I have been honked at and showered with profanities more than once. And I am not a slow walker.
- pizzetta 9y ago
  My experience in Germany was, as a ped, that people re rigid about crosswalks (only during green and within the marked crosswalk), else you risk getting looked askance. I learned to obey the crosswalk signals (rather than take them more as suggested indicators as in the US).
  - skrause 9y ago
    It's weird that so many people report that. I'm a German who never waits for the green light at crosswalks and I never get any funny looks or comments.
    - MiddleEndian 9y ago
      Even within the US crosswalk behavior varies. Living in Boston, I cross wherever it's clear. In Seattle and its suburbs I've seen people get tickets for crossing a completely empty street.
- Sleeep 9y ago
  Even if they do know it they don't care. Most drivers (as a generalization) have distain for pedestrians and expect them to get out of their way all the time because they are in an automobile, thus much more important. I've been cursed at and honked at many, many times for entering an intersection at the very beginning of the "walk" symbol because the driver wished to make a right hand turn. More than once! There's actually some intersections where it's actually very dangerous to cross at the "walk" symbol for that reason. Then there's the drivers who believe they are more important than even other cars, they believe stop signs (and red lights to an extent) don't apply to them and just ignore them and go when they feel like it and expect other people to stop for them. I was hit by a car as a child pedestrian by a driver who didn't even slow down for a red light. Luckily they didn't do any damage as they slammed on the brakes last minute and only knocked me down. Just the other day I had a near miss, as a driver, with another car who ran a red light. That driver flipped me off because I was in their way and they believe themselves to be much more important than me. Last time I drove with my dad he yelled at me for not illegally cutting off the driver who had the right of way but was a little slow entering the intersection. My dad is a huge asshole in practically every other way possible. It's gotten so much more hostile in the last decade. This is why self driving cars can't come soon enough.
dghughes 9y ago
My point of view is sure you as a pedestrian have a legal right but if you get hit and are killed there is no point in being right but dead. I get my ass out of the way asap.
- leviathan 9y ago
  In Canada (Quebec) people are generally more relaxed and drivers will wait for pedestrians even if it means they miss their light.
  - branchless 9y ago
    I love this, it's so great to see here the idea that even in a big city there are more important things than rushing somewhere.
    - slededit 9y ago
      My first memory of Montreal is a cyclist getting hit at an intersection.
  - anbotero 9y ago
    I'm not saying I'm a golden egg among rotten ones here in my country, Colombia, but I have 20 or so (conscious) years of my life 1) not running to reach my destination and 2) being relaxed most of the time without the need of drugs or anything. It seems so normal for me not being rushed, waiting for the lights when I'm driving or walking, crossing the street using designated intersections. In any case, I've measured things as simple as how long it takes for me to reach bus station from work place, and I've sometimes reached it sooner than some people I see running. I know it sounds crazy, but some times they forget to buy the ticket, or they get blocked by slow people taking ALL the road (three horizontally-aligned people in a four tops road), while I keep my pace. I'd wish people had less worries in their life (we all have our problems and demons), and could keep their peace of mind without worrying about everything or having OCD or something. Anyways, this sounds amazing.
    - 9y ago
Yizahi 9y ago
And when I was in Prague (I think) they had on all crossings pedestrian green light for like 5-10 seconds top, specifically to use this rule about starting crossing on green. I assume the idea was to make pedestrians cross in groups, not in continuous flow.
mbrameld 9y ago
Lots of folks have replied saying it's the same where they're from. Can anyone say where this is NOT the case?
- cakedoggie 9y ago
  In turkey pedestrians do not have right of way. So on zebra crossings, you have to wait until the cars stop, they don't have to stop for you.x
aaron695 9y ago
So one thing traffic lights do is stop people dying. (Unless Freakonomics want to tell me otherwise) But they cost money and apps cost money, so how much are the dead people worth? You then could just rely on the legalities I guess and ignore the article which was mostly about safety. Dead people cost a bit, but the elderly a lot less, sometimes you save money. Often we get these figures wrong because of emotions and it's hard to exactly quantify.

CraigJPerry 9y ago

Same in the uk - green doesn't mean go, it means go if it's clear. Pedestrians can take all week to cross if they want. Drivers will honk their horns for sure but legally the peds have right of way.

netrus 9y ago
Same in Germany. In Hamburg, the Critical Mass bikers make use of this trick: They are cycling as one large group, and thus are treated like a single vehicle (a special rule, intended for groups of bike racers): once the first biker is on the crossing, everyone behind them can follow, even if the lights go red. in the summer, several thousand bikers participate!
wil421 9y ago
Same where I am in the US. If they are in the crosswalk they still have right of way. In my area they have special blinking lights near crosswalks by heavy traffic areas. You press a button to walk and it comes on instantly, speed limit is only 35 mph. There is also a special pedestrian only red light button for major road crossings. No cars use the light and it only turns on for people walking.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

konschubert 9y ago

Same in Germany. The problem is that many car drivers don't know this. I have been honked at and showered with profanities more than once. And I am not a slow walker.

pizzetta 9y ago
My experience in Germany was, as a ped, that people re rigid about crosswalks (only during green and within the marked crosswalk), else you risk getting looked askance. I learned to obey the crosswalk signals (rather than take them more as suggested indicators as in the US).
- skrause 9y ago
  It's weird that so many people report that. I'm a German who never waits for the green light at crosswalks and I never get any funny looks or comments.
  - MiddleEndian 9y ago
    Even within the US crosswalk behavior varies. Living in Boston, I cross wherever it's clear. In Seattle and its suburbs I've seen people get tickets for crossing a completely empty street.
Sleeep 9y ago
Even if they do know it they don't care. Most drivers (as a generalization) have distain for pedestrians and expect them to get out of their way all the time because they are in an automobile, thus much more important. I've been cursed at and honked at many, many times for entering an intersection at the very beginning of the "walk" symbol because the driver wished to make a right hand turn. More than once! There's actually some intersections where it's actually very dangerous to cross at the "walk" symbol for that reason. Then there's the drivers who believe they are more important than even other cars, they believe stop signs (and red lights to an extent) don't apply to them and just ignore them and go when they feel like it and expect other people to stop for them. I was hit by a car as a child pedestrian by a driver who didn't even slow down for a red light. Luckily they didn't do any damage as they slammed on the brakes last minute and only knocked me down. Just the other day I had a near miss, as a driver, with another car who ran a red light. That driver flipped me off because I was in their way and they believe themselves to be much more important than me. Last time I drove with my dad he yelled at me for not illegally cutting off the driver who had the right of way but was a little slow entering the intersection. My dad is a huge asshole in practically every other way possible. It's gotten so much more hostile in the last decade. This is why self driving cars can't come soon enough.

dghughes 9y ago

My point of view is sure you as a pedestrian have a legal right but if you get hit and are killed there is no point in being right but dead. I get my ass out of the way asap.

leviathan 9y ago
In Canada (Quebec) people are generally more relaxed and drivers will wait for pedestrians even if it means they miss their light.
- branchless 9y ago
  I love this, it's so great to see here the idea that even in a big city there are more important things than rushing somewhere.
  - slededit 9y ago
    My first memory of Montreal is a cyclist getting hit at an intersection.
- anbotero 9y ago
  I'm not saying I'm a golden egg among rotten ones here in my country, Colombia, but I have 20 or so (conscious) years of my life 1) not running to reach my destination and 2) being relaxed most of the time without the need of drugs or anything. It seems so normal for me not being rushed, waiting for the lights when I'm driving or walking, crossing the street using designated intersections. In any case, I've measured things as simple as how long it takes for me to reach bus station from work place, and I've sometimes reached it sooner than some people I see running. I know it sounds crazy, but some times they forget to buy the ticket, or they get blocked by slow people taking ALL the road (three horizontally-aligned people in a four tops road), while I keep my pace. I'd wish people had less worries in their life (we all have our problems and demons), and could keep their peace of mind without worrying about everything or having OCD or something. Anyways, this sounds amazing.
  - 9y ago

Yizahi 9y ago

And when I was in Prague (I think) they had on all crossings pedestrian green light for like 5-10 seconds top, specifically to use this rule about starting crossing on green. I assume the idea was to make pedestrians cross in groups, not in continuous flow.

mbrameld 9y ago

Lots of folks have replied saying it's the same where they're from. Can anyone say where this is NOT the case?

cakedoggie 9y ago
In turkey pedestrians do not have right of way. So on zebra crossings, you have to wait until the cars stop, they don't have to stop for you.x

aaron695 9y ago

So one thing traffic lights do is stop people dying. (Unless Freakonomics want to tell me otherwise) But they cost money and apps cost money, so how much are the dead people worth? You then could just rely on the legalities I guess and ignore the article which was mostly about safety. Dead people cost a bit, but the elderly a lot less, sometimes you save money. Often we get these figures wrong because of emotions and it's hard to exactly quantify.