Increasinbly, and particularly in 20mph zones, areas of road are raised to pavement level - to provide a sort of flat pedestrian crossing area; often paved rather than tarmac.
Who wins? The driver or the pedestrian?
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Hi Mapmaker,
I'd suggest that if the pedestrian is on the portion of the road normally designated for cars then the car has right of way. Normally, unless it's a marked, signed pedestrian crossing then I'd expect the pedestrian to exercise a little road, and indeed common, sense. An unrealistic expectation, I realise, but one day I may be pleasantly surprised!
Cheers.
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Well yes. But one might similarly say that if the car driver is going across an area where a pedestrian normally goes, then the car driver should exercise restraint and common sense.
So does the road go over the pavement, or the pavement over the road?
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No, like you said at the start, the road is raised to pavement level. Not changed in status. It is still a road.
I have a number of these where I work, and they are dangerous. Drivers need to keep their wits about them for absent minded pedestrians who don't realise they are walking from a pavement to a road.
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We have these on our modern little estate, the raised bits are all block paved. But there is no signage stating it is a pedestrian crossing so I take it that normal road rules apply; ie. you dont stop to let pedestrians cross. You only rarely get pedestrians look at you as if they expect you to stop, but no signage = normal road IMO. Following other drivers in/out of the estate they do the same without exception in my experience.
Having said that our estate is a series of cul-de-sacs with no straight road longer than 50 yards; so to exceed 15mph feels excessive. The raised bits act as speed bumps so you keep your speed down anyway (apart from the bloke with the V6 Vectra and the woman in the 3-series compact). If there is a pedestrian already in/ about to step into the road I would excercise caution as on any other road.
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Aren't these simply "Pedestrianised Speedbumps" ? usual rules of road apply to both Pedestrians and Drivers (vehicle priority) with regard to "Right of way". Unless designated and signed as a "Pedestrianised Area". Me thinks!
Billy
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"the portion of the road normally designated for cars then the car has right of way"
There is no such thing as "right of way" on a road and a car has no precedence whatsoever over a pedestrian or any other vehicle whether the road is at pavement level or otherwise.
Raised areas of road are I believe designed to bring a level of awareness to the driver that the car is in an area used by pedestians and hopefully bring an element of caution into their driving
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