When you cross a road, and the signal turns red, when you are not even half-way across, what do you do?

Keep on walking.
Relaxed, with a slight anticipation of getting run over.
Luckily the majority of traffic participants here are very friendly and patient.

Which country and town am I in, and what are the cars doing on what sort of street?

Mainly I look to see if there are any vehicles in position to be a danger, and what their drivers seem to be aware of and up to. Usually if I’m in the street I’ve already been doing that, the situation hasn’t seemed dangerous so far, and depending on the rules and driving culture, I’m probably going to keep walking, or speeding up and continuing to cross, unless I’m with someone who turns back, in which case I try to stay with them and help them.

You’re not an American or Canadian, so why are you asking about fate? I thought most or all Europeans had awareness and skills regarding crossing streets with respect to what the drivers are actually doing, not so much with regard to the signals?

That’s certainly what I learned to do in cities in Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia, etc., and even the UK. I don’t remember Germany being especially different, but it’s been a while.

In the US though the drivers and pedestrians tend to be less conscious and aware and more reliant on rules, and more susceptible to upset or even panic and random behavior if someone does something wild like jaywalking.

Keep walking.

I will run or walk briskly, since drivers around here will roll right over you if they have the green.

Most of the above. Continue walking.

In many places, you have a couple of seconds before the other drivers get the green light.
And the pedestrian has the right of way,

@Yellowdog The pedestrian does not have the right of way if the light for the pedestrian has switched to Stop. If one gets to the street too late to cross before the light changes, one is to stand on the corner until one gets the light again.

You are correct. I don’t know why I wrote that.

Related question, if you are in a private parking lot, like for a shopping center, and one business lets out and 100 people come streaming out in front of your moving vehicle, are you required to stop and give them right of way or do they wait for the cars to pass.

This is a daily occurence at a school of cosmetology. No one wants to hit them, but they just walk out and don’t even look around. It’s crazy, mostly youngsters, like college age. I’m thinking about calling their mgr to prevent a death.

It kind of seems logical that a pedestrian always have the right of way but they don’t. Only when they’re in marked pedestrian crossings.

@KNOWITALL no they don’t automatically have the right of way. Much as you’d like to though ya can’t mow them down!
I’d bring it to someone’s attention.

@KNOWITALL When it comes to parking lots I find it hard sometimes to know what to do, as a pedestrian as well. I’m not really sure what the rules are around here, but it seems everybody’s both walking and driving everywhere at the same time.

Depends how big the road is, is there a median, can I see the drivers face at the stoplight and do I know he can see me, so many factors.

The light goes from yellow to red to, a 1–4 second delay to green the other direction usually.

No matter what your state law is in America you don’t want to get killed obviously. Who cares if the law was with you if you are seriously harmed or dead?

Most states pedestrians have a responsibility to be observant to the rules of traffic. You can’t just step out into the middle of a road, that’s jay walking. Even at intersection you need to cross with the flow of traffic. At a crosswalk on a lesser street with no traffic signals, but a sign to yield to pedestrians, then the pedestrian has the right of way, but you should still make sure the car is stopping.

In the Netherlands, as soon as a pedestrian steps one foot on a crossing, without lights around it, they have right of way.
The “weakest” participants have the strongest protection.

That makes sense to me,.rebbel. American pedestrians just TAKE the right of way and in the last 10 years have gotten stupid about it. I’m old school…I yield to the vehicle until they stop and wave me on, which they do 99% of the time. Then I give them a thank you wave and a smile. It’s what I’m teaching my grandkids to do too.

Where I live the golf carts are to yield the right of way to cars. Some people assume the opposite because they think if it like a pedestrian has the right of way, so the “weakest” is to yield, but it makes perfect sense to me to tell the weakest to WATCH OUT. Lol. Yield to the vehicle that will win in the crash. Cars are driving at 30 mph usually while carts drive at 20mph. Why does a cart want to get out in front of the faster vehicle anyway?

If the car had the right of way the golf carts might just ride right feeling legally empowered and take a huge risk. This does happen too often anyway, it’s dangerous.

Who teaches their children you have the right of way just step out in the street? I hope no one. Children are taught look left right left (in right side of the road countries) and to cross at the cross walks.

Pedestrians having the right of way is a rule for who goes first once everyone is aware of each other more than anything. It’s like learning at a four way stop the car to the right has the right of way.

I keep walking, only a little faster.

@JLeslie On one of the Lassie series’ I watched as a kid, I remember Lassie (who frequently worked alone) would look both ways before crossing the street. I guess they were making a point for children watching to take heed and do the same.

@Dutchess_lll It just scares me because they will be talking to each other and without pause, just walk into the driving area in front of us.

My grandson was 3 last year and he conned gramma into going on a long assed walk in the tiny town they live it. Virtually no traffic, but I still was having him look both ways before crossing the deserted streets. Well after the 4th block he dutifully looked around… then went to the center of the intersection and LAID DOWN SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF IT!! God. His dad would have done the exact same thing in that situation and at that age! Twerp!

Why did he do it? Because he’s smart. He knew exactly why I was having him look for cars so he did the very exact thing I would not want him to do. But he also knew it was perfectly safe and would leave me flummoxed. His dad took sheer delight in leaving me flummoxed. He still does!

I get my ass the hell out of the street! Post-haste! If I’m dumb enough to not start walking when the light says “walk,” I deserve to run the gauntlet.
You must remember that at least 25% of drivers are legally impaired and then there’s the bozos on their stupid phones. You got a death wish or something???

Pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way. What are you going to do, run them down like stupid animals?

I thought about people on phones too, which makes those dimwits who walk out in front of moving cars that much dumber.

@kritiper They pop out in front of me from between other cars. I dont want anyone hurt. It bothers me they believe vehicles can stop on a dime.

@kritiper…no they don’t. They only have the right of way if they are in marked areas where drivers are expected to expect them. Depending on the circumstances, of course, if a pedestrian runs across an unmarked section of street and gets hit it is not a given that the driver is responsible. Look it up.

It bothers me to think they are so arrogant that we have nothing to do but watch out for their dumb asses @KNOWITALL.

If it turns red before I’m halfway then I turn back fast, much safer, unless there is no car in sight or the closest thing coming toward me is too far away that I can make it. But it should be rare that that can happen since there is the yellow before the red.

@Dutchess Hey you’ve been at my job so you DO know!!! Ha. Ya, those kids just act like we arent there, it actually scared me so bad I go about 10mph.

Yes they do and it’s gotten so bad. Once I had some kids congregate behind my car. I walked right past them, got in the car, turned it on, put it in reverse…and they did not move. So I slowly started backing out anyway. Of course that earned me dirty looks and name calling. WTF is WRONG with them???

@Dutchess_lll According to you, if the pedestrian is out of bounds then they are fair game for the killing. How many have you killed???

That isn’t my point at all. I am saying that if a pedestrian is outside the designated area and they accidentally get hit the driver of the car may not be held liable.
If the driver had the opportunity to stop but deliberately didn’t, that’s a different animal.
Go look up the laws.

Pedestrians have guidelines for their safety, and if they are spotted by police breaking those guideline they can be e ticketed for jaywalking, however, in the case of injured pedestrians, the driver is always at fault.
So, while there are pedestrian laws, they are like the pirate’s code, more of a suggestion.
The only time a pedestrian hit by a vehicle faces charges is when it is for fraudulent insurance claims.

I don’t think so. If a kid suddenly runs down a driveway and into the street and gets hit by a car, how is that the driver’s fault?

I stated fact.
You shared an opinion.

Look up the laws.

I just stand there, until the light changes again, and force the traffic to drive around me. Why, oh why, does nobody like me?!?!

It depends on the amount of traffic of course. If it’s clear enough to walk anyway I will. Otherwise I’ll wait. It doesn’t matter who’s legally right, if I’m walking and they’re driving cars I’m the one who’s gonna lose if they hit me…

I have no choice. I have one speed, and turning around makes no sense.

I don’t really turn around either. What kind of situation is that anyway? You usually know from the start if you’re walking with little time left right? That’s when you decide if you can or can’t make it.

^^^Right?

Whether I am crutches or wheelchair bound, I always run close on the time, and usually time expires before I reach the other side.

I’m really sorry to hear that if you are. I’ve actually thought about this sometimes. Where I live the traffic lights vary greatly in how much time you get to cross. I’m a fast walker but even so I have a hard time getting across the street before it turns red in a certain area I have to walk every morning to my train. I don’t see how old or handicapped people would manage at all.

I think intersections with high pedestrian counts should have the “X” crossing. It cuts wait time a great deal for those who need to be at a diagonal corner, so stopping traffic in all directions clears pedestrians much more efficiently.

You missed the point. The pedestrian does not always have the right of way.

@ragingloli When you cross a road, and the signal turns red, when you are not even half-way across, what do you do?

Hit the accelerator.

I stop immediately and let ask myself “now what would loli do?”

When I was a kid, I was crossing the street with my older sister. Just like in your description, the light turned green before we were halfway across. I started hesitantly pulling her hand to go back. And I vividly remember her hissing at me “Indecision will get you killed.” as she quickly dragged me across the street.

Don’t know if that’s necessarily the right answer. And I think I might have some mild PTSD from that moment. Because more than thirty years later, I still hear her yelling at me when the hand starts blinking.

Maybe it is a necessary caution you are experiencing, not PTSD.