4 ms·

Europe is more strict esp Germany. I heard a story that if you get hit by a car they'll come to your hospital bed to give you the bill to repair the car damage,

by rb808 9y ago

Europe is more strict esp Germany. I heard a story that if you get hit by a car they'll come to your hospital bed to give you the bill to repair the car damage, though I'm not sure how accurate that is.

Mo3 9y ago
That's nonsense. Jaywalking is not a crime or offence here. You cause an accident, you're paying. //Edit, I stand corrected. It's a very minor offence, costing you 10€ if there's no signal, if there's a signal 5€ if traffic is endangered and 10€ if an accident was caused. 10€ for crossing the Autobahn (or, more likely, your life)
- bwood 9y ago
  Anecdotally, I once crossed an empty street in Munich when the crosswalk said not to and was promptly chastised by a police officer.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- mrec 9y ago
  I thought you could get points on your driving license, and potentially lose it with enough violations?
  - Mo3 9y ago
    That's true, but not for crossing a street on foot. This isn't Naz.. you know what, nevermind.
    - mrec 9y ago
      Hmm, apparently I was misinformed while living there. (About the points, not about being Naz...)
- Xylakant 9y ago
  If you’re caught as a repeat offender you may get points or even loose your license. I’ve yet to hear of a case where a pedestrian lost his license yet, though. The line of reasoning, however, is that if you’re incapable of respecting the rules and regulations, you’re not fit to operate a vehicle. This argument has been tested in court and multiple people lost their drivers license for parking tickets, an offense in the same (price) category.
Chriky 9y ago
Culturally, I've noticed Germans will absolutely not cross before the green man, even if there are no cars. In the UK it is very common to cross even if the man is red. I've been in walking conversations with continental Europeans in London, then suddenly noticed they aren't at my side any more because they stopped at a crossing that was clear.
- krisdol 9y ago
  Even if they do cross, they have the right of way. Outside of maybe the autobahn, you should never be driving a car fast enough to where you cannot see a pedestrian in time to stop for them. It's pretty unlikely that the pedestrian is ever found at fault for an accident in Germany.
  - Xylakant 9y ago
    No, that’s entirely not true. See http://www.iww.de/va/archiv/unfallschadensregulierung-der-fussgaengerunfall-in-der-aktuellen-rspr-f45770 http://www.iww.de/va/archiv/unfallschadensregulierung-der-fu... for a summary in German with citations of relevant cases. It’s unlikely that the pedestrian is found to be entirely at fault, though. Tables with with cases and the resulting distribution are at the end.
  - closeparen 9y ago
    You have the right of way when crossing against a signal? Why bother with signals then?
    - Symbiote 9y ago
      What is the alternative? That vehicles have no obligation to stop when a pedestrian is in the road? I think your reasoning belongs with whatever lies behind the need for the "State law: Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalk" signs[1] which I find confusing in the USA. In which states am I not supposed to yield? [1] https://images.roadtrafficsigns.com/img/lg/K/Yield-To-In-Crosswalk-Sign-K-6642.gif https://images.roadtrafficsigns.com/img/lg/K/Yield-To-In-Cro...
Xylakant 9y ago
Jaywalking as an offense exists and you might be responsible in the case where you caused an accident, but to be fully responsible you’d probably have to jump right in front of a car or do something equally reckless. There’s a legal construction called “Allgemeine Betriebsgefahr” which encapsulates the danger of operating a car, leading to the default assumption that the driver is at least partially to blame.
Symbiote 9y ago
> Europe I think you should probably know better than to try and generalize all of Europe on a topic like this.
simias 9y ago
I don't think you can make a general rule for Europe at large. Germany is definitely very strict about this, most people won't cross if the pedestrian light isn't green even if there's no car in sight. Meanwhile in my experience German drivers always stop to let you pass when you have right of way. On the other hand if you go to France everybody crosses everywhere all the time and most drivers won't stop to let you cross on a walkway unless you're already on the middle of the road. I don't know if jaywalking is an offense over here but if it is I have never ever seen it enforced. You could jaywalk right next to a cop and nobody will care.

by rb808 9y ago

Mo3 9y ago

That's nonsense. Jaywalking is not a crime or offence here. You cause an accident, you're paying. //Edit, I stand corrected. It's a very minor offence, costing you 10€ if there's no signal, if there's a signal 5€ if traffic is endangered and 10€ if an accident was caused. 10€ for crossing the Autobahn (or, more likely, your life)

bwood 9y ago
Anecdotally, I once crossed an empty street in Munich when the crosswalk said not to and was promptly chastised by a police officer.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
mrec 9y ago
I thought you could get points on your driving license, and potentially lose it with enough violations?
- Mo3 9y ago
  That's true, but not for crossing a street on foot. This isn't Naz.. you know what, nevermind.
  - mrec 9y ago
    Hmm, apparently I was misinformed while living there. (About the points, not about being Naz...)
Xylakant 9y ago
If you’re caught as a repeat offender you may get points or even loose your license. I’ve yet to hear of a case where a pedestrian lost his license yet, though. The line of reasoning, however, is that if you’re incapable of respecting the rules and regulations, you’re not fit to operate a vehicle. This argument has been tested in court and multiple people lost their drivers license for parking tickets, an offense in the same (price) category.

Chriky 9y ago

Culturally, I've noticed Germans will absolutely not cross before the green man, even if there are no cars. In the UK it is very common to cross even if the man is red. I've been in walking conversations with continental Europeans in London, then suddenly noticed they aren't at my side any more because they stopped at a crossing that was clear.

krisdol 9y ago
Even if they do cross, they have the right of way. Outside of maybe the autobahn, you should never be driving a car fast enough to where you cannot see a pedestrian in time to stop for them. It's pretty unlikely that the pedestrian is ever found at fault for an accident in Germany.
- Xylakant 9y ago
  No, that’s entirely not true. See http://www.iww.de/va/archiv/unfallschadensregulierung-der-fussgaengerunfall-in-der-aktuellen-rspr-f45770 http://www.iww.de/va/archiv/unfallschadensregulierung-der-fu... for a summary in German with citations of relevant cases. It’s unlikely that the pedestrian is found to be entirely at fault, though. Tables with with cases and the resulting distribution are at the end.
- closeparen 9y ago
  You have the right of way when crossing against a signal? Why bother with signals then?
  - Symbiote 9y ago
    What is the alternative? That vehicles have no obligation to stop when a pedestrian is in the road? I think your reasoning belongs with whatever lies behind the need for the "State law: Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalk" signs[1] which I find confusing in the USA. In which states am I not supposed to yield? [1] https://images.roadtrafficsigns.com/img/lg/K/Yield-To-In-Crosswalk-Sign-K-6642.gif https://images.roadtrafficsigns.com/img/lg/K/Yield-To-In-Cro...

Xylakant 9y ago

Jaywalking as an offense exists and you might be responsible in the case where you caused an accident, but to be fully responsible you’d probably have to jump right in front of a car or do something equally reckless. There’s a legal construction called “Allgemeine Betriebsgefahr” which encapsulates the danger of operating a car, leading to the default assumption that the driver is at least partially to blame.

Symbiote 9y ago

> Europe I think you should probably know better than to try and generalize all of Europe on a topic like this.

simias 9y ago

I don't think you can make a general rule for Europe at large. Germany is definitely very strict about this, most people won't cross if the pedestrian light isn't green even if there's no car in sight. Meanwhile in my experience German drivers always stop to let you pass when you have right of way. On the other hand if you go to France everybody crosses everywhere all the time and most drivers won't stop to let you cross on a walkway unless you're already on the middle of the road. I don't know if jaywalking is an offense over here but if it is I have never ever seen it enforced. You could jaywalk right next to a cop and nobody will care.