5 ms·
Same in the UK and most commonwealth countries I think
by dkdbejwi383 6y ago
Same in the UK and most commonwealth countries I think
- wiredfool 6y agoThere are pelicans too. Because pelicans have bright yellow flashing balls and ...
- dkdbejwi383 6y agoMy favourite is the Toucan crossing. They are a lot wider, with two sets of buttons at pedestrian height, and a cyclist height. Named as such because "two (types of road user) can" cross it.
- globular-toast 6y agoI like the Pegasus crossing. It has an even higher button that can be used by horse riders without dismounting.
- wiredfool 6y agoHow different are the heights of cyclists and pedestrians when they're waiting for a crossing light? I think it's time for a vast menagerie of crossings. 1) The AARdvark crossing. When you hit the button it sings the aardvark song. Also useful on talk like a pirate day. 2) The Abalone crossing. It's under the water and quite endangered. ...
- corin_ 6y agoNo the flashing balls go with zebra crossings, pelicans use actual traffic lights. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_crossing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_crossing
- forest_dweller 6y agoThe bright yellow flashing balls are called a Belisha beacon and they are for zebra crossings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belisha_beacon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belisha_beacon Pelican crossings have the button you must press to cross.
- tialaramex 6y agoAs listed by others, popular crossing types in this group (the UK has a set of rules for how this should work and then local government can do paperwork to get something else appropriate if none of the existing designs are suitable) Zebra has striped road markings, with flashing yellow marker lights so that vehicle users have plenty of advance warning of the crossing. Pedestrians have right of way on these crossings at all times, other road users should slow until they can discern whether any pedestrians are trying to cross and if necessary stop. Pelican is an older design, though still used in new crossings in London and some other places. The pedestrians controls are in a box at hand height but the signals are on the far side of the crossing. These trigger road signals in a pattern with an extra flashing amber phase meaning "road vehicles may cross only if there are no pedestrians using the crossing". Puffin is a replacement for Pelican with two innovations. Firstly the pedestrian signals are with your controls on your side of the road and they're placed so that to face towards them you're also facing oncoming traffic (this will most often be the right side of the crossing since the British drive on the left, but not in every situation). Secondly there is no flashing amber phase, the Puffin has infrared detectors so it can discern whether pedestrians are still on the crossing and extend the red phase slightly if they are. The Toucan and Pegasus mentioned elsewhere are variants of Puffin rather than Pelican.
- drdec 6y agoIn the US we have deer crossings, moose crossings and even the occasional duck crossing or goose crossing.
- dempseye 6y agoIn Ireland we have zebra and pelican crossings. The general term used in the driver training literature is "pedestrian crossing." Most people would recognise the term "crosswalk" from American media, though.
- bryanrasmussen 6y agounless they live in a country were American media is dubbed. Even then I'm not sure if you really recognize it, how often do I actually hear cross-walk in a movie or show? on edit: changed here to hear.
- Taniwha 6y agoEven in the US things are different from state to state, in California every uncontrolled intersection has 'crosswalks' where pedestrians have right of way, even if they are not painted in. Pedestrians are not supposed to cross in the middle of a block, unless there's a marked crossing (which is the only place you're likely to see an actual zebra crossing)
- tankenmate 6y agoPersonally I refused to answer "crosswalk" or "fire hydrant" questions, that's not what they are like around here. We have pedestrian crossings, not cross walks. Fire hydrants around here are inside the ground, or in a riser if inside a building.
- mkl 6y ago"Pedestrian crossing" in NZ. Or just "crossing", if the context is clear.
- eythian 6y agoWhen I was young in NZ, they were zebra crossings. But then I noticed that they started more and more to be a pair of lines across the road than the zebra patterns, and the name seemed to gradually fall out of use.
- auscompgeek 6y agoIn Australia (or at least in NSW) only crossings at traffic lights are marked with a pair of lines across the road. The majority of crossings not at traffic lights are zebra crossings.
- Taniwha 6y agoThey will still have a faux "belisha ball" (just an orange disk) next to them
- adamjb 6y agoIn Australia zebra crossings are a type of pedestrian crossing where pedestrians always have right of way.
- StavrosK 6y agoIsn't that what everybody else is talking about too?
- OJFord 6y agoI don't think 'crosswalks' require road traffic give way to pedestrians? Don't they just mark where crossing the road is not 'jaywalking'?
- StavrosK 6y agoHmm, I thought they did, but now that you mention it I realize I'm not sure. In the UK they do, but "crosswalk" refers to the US one. Can any US people clarify?
- OJFord 6y agoSorry I assumed you were in the US, our (I'm also in the UK) zebra crossings do yes, but I was under the impression that they just marked any crossing (even at traffic lights) in the US. But I'm basically only familiar with them from bloody reCaptchas, so I don't know!
- pueblito 6y agoIn Colorado, pedestrians have right of way regardless of where they cross. Bikes and horses are treated as vehicles and entitled to the entire lane if they want. If the road is one lane, then uphill has right of way.
- curryst 6y agoThe presence of a crosswalk generally gives pedestrians the right of way. At traffic lights, there are normally the usual car traffic lights (red, yellow and green), and then "pedestrian traffic lights" that face the crosswalks. The pedestrian traffic lights usually light up white in the shape of a person when you have the right of way to cross the crosswalk, or they show a red hand if you do not have the right of way. For crosswalks not at an intersection (typically when there is several hundred feet of road without an intersection for crosswalks), I believe pedestrians always have the right of way. Sometimes they have a button you can push that will activate yellow lights overhead so drivers know that you're crossing (primarily useful at night). I think you have the right of way regardless, but given how little attention many people pay, I tend to treat them like I'm jaywalking anyways.