Anyone noticed any new rules about pedestrian crossing usage? I've seen a few signs up recently, basically telling peds to stop before crossing and not make cars brake suddenly (as far as I could tell in passing, from the German text).

Is this actually a change to the law or just a campaign to reduce accidents on crossings? And is it national or just around here (Basel)? It's long been the case here that many pedestrians walk out without looking and often make cars brake for them, so I wonder if they've been trying it too often with foreign drivers who don't know the score.

No change in law but maybe a reminder that having right of way comes with being responsible and using common sense.

A reminder that although a pedestrian has 'right of way' on the crossing, it is also possible to be dead right.

Here in canton Zurich the latest is "Make eye contact with auto driver before attempting to cross the road". The police have giant sized posters up everywhere about this - the "eye contact" - and to not assume the driver is aware of stopping.

Even with all this, people still just make a sudden crossing. So I guess it`s still the driver has to be especially aware at pedestrian crossings.

Cyclists who ride accross pedestrian crossing are considered NOT pedestrians - they have to get off their bikes and push them over the road - to enjoy pedestrian status.

In the last week I`ve experienced TWICE nearly hitting old ladies riding their bikes over the crossings!

Beware of old ladies, teenagers, and little kids!

The 'eye contact' bit sounds great, but I often simply cannot see through the windscreen - sun, shadow, bad eyesight, I don't know the real reason. I do know that if I waited each time for eye contact before I crosse the road, I'd never get anywhere - and I'd drive the drivers up the wall.

No changes in the rule, just a rimnder of the status quo.

Art. 49 Abs. 2 SVG
Since 1963

Art. 47 VRV.
Since 1994

My experience with crosswalks in Zurich has been the only thing to freak me out in the year I've been here. I almost got hit more times in a year than in 25 years in other places, some of which are in countries that are not known for they law-abiding culture. Worst offenders are luxury car drivers, if I make eye contact with them, they accelerate, and If I cross they end up braking in the middle of the crosswalk, almost hitting me, and look at me as if I had done something wrong.

To me putting someone's life at risk deliberately for arrogance is intolerable and of very poor human quality under any cultural standards. OK, we all hate to wait, but hey, I'm on the street, it's cold, may be raining or snowing, and I may be carrying a full load of groceries from coop. They are seated in a climatized luxury car. The question is, if I film them with my cell phone and the in the video the behaviour is obvious, will the police do anything about it?

I'm sorry if I sound a bit mad but I almost got hit by a mercedes whose driver had seen me and did not want to brake, it's not the first time, and I really want to do something about it.

A Zurich driver yesterday:



How drivers who will not stop should be dealt with:

How do I thank you for that?

You will see the Thanks button once you have 10 posts.

Take a photo of them and the car number and then walk off in the process of ringing the phone it will scare the living crap out of them. First make sure to cross safely but slowly and purposely and invite othe pedestrians to cross so they are delayed for at least 20seconds

Like a lot of other things peculiar to the EF, I have never (as far as I can remember) had any such experiences in CH. Once again I have to say that compared to other countries the standard of driving and attention here is outstanding.

I think it depends on the crossing. There's a crossing that I cross daily where Forschstrasse in Zürich (fast-moving and downward road) meets a give-way junction and then channels into a side road from the tram tracks as it passes through Hegibachplatz. There are plenty of pedestrians around and two pedestrian crossings on that side road. Based on experience, I take a defensive approach in that area. When I go to the crossing, I walk until I am square with the crossing, stand very clearly on the edge of the curb, and look directly at the oncoming traffic before I cross. I'm 6' and I think easily visible. Still I have drivers going straight over the crossing in the case that they had plenty of time to see me and stop.

Like Pinxo, I have had a feeling for some time that it is luxury cars that behave like this. But I could never be bothered to take a scientific approach and keep a record to check it. However earlier this year, I saw that there has actually been research, at least for US driving behavior, on exactly this topic. And sure enough, luxury car drivers are more likely to cut up pedestrians -

http://www.allgov.com/news/unusual-n...03?news=847234

p.s. But I also think that the overall standard of driving is great in CH.

Isn't it amazing how complicated this has become? (Note: "car" equals any vehicle or bicycle)

Originally pedestrians were obliged at a crossing to put their arm horizontally towards the road, indicating they wanted to cross over, and the car drivers had to stop.

This worked fairly well, but some people saw that the cars taking over the city and demanded more rights for the pedestrians. So the law was changed "To improve safety" and pedestrians were given the absolute right to use the crossing. This resulted in a huge increase in deaths. Some pedestrians still believe this is the case, and will walk straight across the road "As I have the right of way" these people are slowly being killed off.

Then the rules were changed again, and pedestrians are advised to wait until the car has stopped. Cars must stop if a pedestrian is about to, or looks as though he might be about to, cross the road.

Then about two years ago there was a national survey of every pedestrian crossing: something like 30% of the crossings were deemed to be in a dangerous place.

So we look forward to further improvements. Always stop when people are near a crossing! You cannot expect the pedestrians to stop when there is an island or refuge in the middle of the road either! Treat all pedestrians as though they are animals not under control, and you will be alright.

Two weeks ago a 72 year old man was killed in Langendorf. On a Sunday morning he walked straight out onto the crossing, his wife held back and was not hit. The police agree, that the driver was probably blinded by the strong low sunshine. So why didn't the pedestrian stop and see the car, the sunlight was strong, the visibility for the pedestrian was about perfect!

Just taking your phone out and pointing it at them will probably be sufficient!

There's a solution to this being developed at ETH and many other institutions/companies right now - self-driving vehicles. There are outstanding issues with current technology but nothing remains that cannot be overcome. (In fact there is regulated use of self-driving vehicles on public roads already in multiple US states).

I would say that if humans in the 1960s had taken their great goal as 'self-driving vehicles' instead of 'race to the moon', we would have cities running on self-driving vehicles already. Expect traffic to flow more freely, and the number of accidents to reduce.

I live in Basel, and I have had same experiences. Since I am a driver myself, I never just jump out on zebra crossings. I make sure I show my intention of crossing to the driver of an approaching car.
But the thing is, most of the time I end up waiting for few cars to pass by, and only then notice the last car to slow down and let me pass. Then I humbly cross, almost feeling guilty and apologetic that the guy had to slow down/stop in front of a zebra crossing while pedestrian was walking over it!

Also, it happened on several occasions, I was already crossing the road when a car (making a turn) just drove over crossing road scaring me and cutting me off (all cases less then a meter away from me!). My little sister was visiting recently and got super scared as it happened again, and I just started shouting at the driver of a (happens to be, luxurious) car.

There are a number of crossings in Zurich where if you stand patiently waiting to cross the cars just keep coming playing chicken with you. Had times where i waited and decided enough was enough and had the third car in a line lock up their brakes to stop in time.

While swiss drivers overall are better then most countries the ones that drive through Zurich are arrogant and have no regard at all for pedestrians. They are probably actually expat EF members!

I get the rule, but I don't get why people blindly follow it and just walk out in front of traffic. We are taught to drive defensively and look out for others, but it's okay to just step off the curb without looking?

Back in Madison, Wisconsin (USA) they have a simple system at the most dangerous crossings. There are buckets with reflective red or orange flags on either side. Pick up the flag, wave it around as you cross the road, and drop in the bucket on the other side when you get there. Never heard of a person getting hit at any of those locations.

I imagine that the absolute nature of the offence, that is not giving priority to a pedestrian, was to remove the possible defence for the motorist that the pedestrian "did not signal his intention to cross the road" and where proof either way would be more or less impossible.

As a pedestrian, I have, incidentally, witnessed two potentially nasty incidents on a pedestrian crossing in Thun in the last few years where the car driver was seriously at fault.

Incident 1
It was evening and there was a crossing by a roundabout. A driver approaching the roundabout stopped for my wife and I, and we crossed to the middle Island. There was another car approaching the opposite end of the roundabout at some speed, but we reasoned there would have been enough time to cross the second section of the crossing comfortably, so we began crossing. To my horror, it became clear that the driver of this second car, an older woman, had not even seen the roundabout, let alone the crossing, and was driving as if it were a straight road. So we were forced to run to complete the crossing in safety, watching as her car was thrown up into the air as it mounted the raised central island of the roundabout landing more or less on the part of the crossing which we had just vacated. It took another 60 meters before she brought her car under control.

Incident 2
On an another occasion, this time in broad day light, again my wife wanted to use a crossing, one with no island in the middle. There was a car coming on our left, quite fast, but we still had plenty of time so began to cross. Now, from the other end of the crossing, a father carrying one child and with another small child by his side started to cross and we all neared each other more or less 2/3 of the way into the crossing. The car driver made no attempt to slow down, probably reasoning he would have plenty of time to cross the section that my wife and I had just vacated before the father would get anywhere close. However, the small child previously at her father's side (and who the car driver had probably not previously noticed) suddenly ran between my wife an I into the section of the crossing which the car was just about to enter. The father ran and dragged her back just as the car was speeding by with maybe one or two seconds to spare.