Suicidal pedestrians.

[Cibby]

i go down queen street and shortland street in teh city a lot, and tonne of peds just keep walking across the roads and they give you filthy looks if you drive normally up the intersection where they are walking, i tend to just drive through them with the horn going, that helps..

they are all pretty dumb thou,

i especially hate the ones that walk slowley and arrogantly insinuating that they have the right to casually stroll accross the road.

bastards..

[vifferman]

Only if it has a zebra crossing on it.

And the appropriate signage (diamond mark on the road before hand, signs, etc.)
I think (from what I've heard, no personal experience) in some countries it's normal for pedestrians to just wander out onto the road and expect vehicles to manouevre around them. Also, for some reason Chinese people seem to have inordinately bad spatial awareness. Yes, that's a racist comment from the point of view that it's directed at one race of people, but it's true! I've noticed time and again that when walking along behind Chinese people, they are totally unaware you're there, and wander into your path. The same is true if you're on a drive or something shared by pedestrians and cars, such as a carpark. And when driving, they are similarly unaware and are also unable to judge distances and sizes. I experienced this just today, when the car in front of me had room to fit between a car turning right and the curb, but the driver (Asian gentleman) just sat there until it had gone.

Anyway, don't run over pedestrians on your bike. It makes a big mess.

[Disco Dan]

riding along symonds street last week, some asian student with ipod walks out in front of me... slam on the horn but he could not hear me. as im braking and move behind his path of travel he sees me. I shake my head... look up ahead to see a car just about to do a u-turn in front of me... if i had not of slowed down for the student... that would have been it...

[jrandom]

People stepping out on zebra crossings when you approach in a motor vehicle?

Luxury.

Try dealing with blind-Asian-pedestrian behaviour while whooshing silently through town in the left side of your lane at 40kph on a 2cm² contact patch.

I should try riding with coal up my arse and selling the diamonds when I get home every night.

[Lissa]

My favourite are the courtesy crossings in blenheim. So many people think they are genuine crossings and will step out in front of anything, no matter how close it is.

We have those in Masterton... in the main street, they are only Courtesy Crossings.. and should be taken that way, unfortuantly alot of people treat them AS proper crossings. Although the reason could be there are NO Zebra crossing at all along the main street from one side of the street to the other... stupid really.

[Coyote]

Even a train horn wont get their attention.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=af5b0240f8

Whatdoyaknow, I have a morbid curiosity

It's incredible how they fly away like that. What was that guy doing video taping that area anyway?

[Joni]

If pedestrians have right of way... I will accomodate them 100%

However I really dislike it when people think they have more of a right to be on the road than the vehicles.... I slow down enough not to hurt them, and give me time to react, but I dont stop, I just move through the buggers... I often get a dirty look.. but the "you gonna f**k with me?" look on my face usually gets them to run across the rest of the road.

One of my pet peeves that....

Yeah yeah, I know Im a cranky cow at times!

[Guitana]

The fucked up thing is it's adults that are doing this,not kids! I think that the kiddies are well schooled in road safety these days and actually pay attention to whats happening on the road!!
The adults should lead by example!
Most bike horns are a joke no chance of a cage driver hearing ya or a pedestrian!!
I think all Kiwi drivers should start a campaign of terror at all pedestrian crossings and bring back the fear.Joe publics just getting too cocky on the Zebra crossing!!!!!

[Guitana]

My favourite are the courtesy crossings in blenheim. So many people think they are genuine crossings and will step out in front of anything, no matter how close it is.

Yeah I lived in Bleheim for 4 years and the town centre is a complete fuckup but not as dangerous as the roundabout on state hway 1 near the New world it's got a railway line running through the middle of it! Apparently designed by a civil engineer in Auckland!! Good one Bro way to use that engineering degree!

[Coyote]

It's worse when you're a cyclist. I used to always have to go to school by bicycle untill I moved to a house closer to a bus stop (then I got the bike). I would always get peope walking onto the road expecting you to either stop or make a path around them. They obviously saw you, even some of the homies gave a arrogant smirk to show how awesome they are

It's even happened once or twice on the RG down main street. They see you, continue walking at their own pace and look at you dirty as you stop for them.

Ever seeing Zoids I've wanted to get sythes mounted to the side of my bike

[Motu]

I fully get what your saying, however, if your coming up to a pedestrian crossing YOU should be slowing down regardless, if you need to do emergency braking to stop then thats your problem, not the pedestrian.

I've nearly been hit many times at pedestrian crossings, the cagers just seem to think that becuse they know you've seen them that you (the pedestrian) should stop and wait for them to drive over the crossing, maybe one day I'll regret this, but I always make a point of crossing anyway and making the FUCKERS brake, and those that don't have recieved a boot in the door as they pass... funny enough none of them stop cause they know they are in the wrong... hope those wankers enjoy thier dents.

This is exactly the kind of arogance we are talking about,I hope it was a piss take.Check out a school crossing - they wait for a suitable space before putting out the signs,to give the cars time to respond....then when all cars have stopped then the kids are allowed to cross the road.Ordinary humans should do the same.

[gijoe1313]

I was down Wellywood in Lyall Bay, pootling along merrily in the night ... I had a green signal and proceeded to move forward...and two d**kwads decided they'd play chicken with me and crossed the road directly.

Fair enuff, wasn't worth my while to hit them - so I pootle every so slowly behind both of them (they had smirks on their face...)

And then I give it handful just as my exhausts are level with them ... Fark me if they didn't jump the rest of the way to the curb! Guess they weren't expecting that One of them had actually tripped up in his fright and was splayed out in the gutter ... or so I could gather looking into my left mirror as I pootled away

Then one time (at band camp...) I had finished installing the Stebel horn of loudy loud loudness and I was itching to use it (why is it when you have something kewl to use, hardly any opportunity arises!? ) Anyhows, a week later ... and a peddy sees me out in Queen St (by the theatres) and still decided to do the "he'll stop since it's not worth his while to hit me" thing.

I cruise slowly up...and give him a 2 second earful on the old Stebel...and did he ever get a fright he half stumbled/ran to the other side while everyone in hearing distance turned to look...just as he collected the median strip curb and fell face first into the foliage!

I pootled on by and lane-split to the intersection look on my face.

[Ixion]

I don't see such behaviour much. Noone ever does such things to me when I'm on the BMW. I imagine it is my austere dignity that commands respect.

But a few months ago , one evening, I was tootling through the shops on the ffwabbit. Noone much about at that time of night, tootle gently up toward the pedestrian crossing, and a couple of youff clearly decided to do the " lets leap out in front of the motorbike and hope he falls off doing a crash stop" thing.

So instead of going for a big handful of brake (they literally leapt onto the crossing), I nipped up onto the footpath, round behind them , and back onto the road.Didn't bother to slow down, or speed up. As I tootled off I saw the two standing on the crossing staring. I don't like emergency braking.

I had my story ready "I could not stop safely in time officer, they ought not to have attempted to cross, so I took the course of action that was best in the interest of the safety of all concerned. "

That's the thing about a chookchaser. You can chase the chooks wherever they run.

[SPman]

but I am not going to be impressed with anyone who walks straight out in the path of oncoming vehicles unless the crossing is one patrolled by lights. THEN they have absolute right of way.

Not when they are crossing against the f**king lights, they haven't!

One new GSXR1000 - 200m from the dealers (ie - cold oily slippery tyres) - 1 braindead businesswoman in a hurry walking out in front of me = 1 scratched and bent new GSXR!!

She's f**king lucky she picked up her speed and pissed off as I slid across the intersection - THEN she'd have been late for her meeting, or whatever!!

[Goblin]

And the appropriate signage (diamond mark on the road before hand, signs, etc.)
Anyway, don't run over pedestrians on your bike. It makes a big mess.

It seems no one has ever heard of this concept! Long ago, they used to teach this in schools. The diamond on the road is supposed to be the point where if a pedestrian sees a vehicle close to, or past the diamond, the pedestrian should stop and wait for the vehicle to pass. It's much harder to bring any vehicle to a stop than it is to stop walking. Common sense really.

I just blast my horn and yell abuse when pedestrians walk out in front of me.