| General guidance | | | |
| 1) | Pavements (including any path along the side of a road) should be used
if provided. Where possible, avoid being next to the kerb with your back
to the traffic. If you have to step into the road, look both ways first.
Always show due care and consideration for others. |
| 2) | If there is no pavement keep to the right-hand side of the road so that you
can see oncoming traffic.You should take extra care and
 | be prepared to walk in single file, especially on narrow roads or in
poor light |
| keep close to the side of the road. |
It may be safer to cross the road well before a sharp right-hand bend
(so that oncoming traffic has a better chance of seeing you).
Cross back after the bend. |
| 3) |
Help other road users to see you. Wear or carry something light coloured, bright or fluorescent in poor daylight conditions. When it is dark, use reflective materials (e.g. armbands, sashes, waistcoats and jackets), which can be seen, by drivers using headlights, up to three times as far away as non-reflective materials. | |  |
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| 4) | Young children should not be out alone on the pavement or road
(see Rule 7).
When taking children out, keep between them and the traffic and
hold their hands firmly. Strap very young children into push-chairs
or use reins. When pushing a young child in a buggy, do not push
the buggy into the road when checking to see if it is clear to cross,
particularly from between parked vehicles.
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| 5) | Organised walks. Large groups of people walking together should use
a pavement if available; if one is not, they should keep to the left.
Look-outs should be positioned at the front and back of the group, and
they should wear fluorescent clothes in daylight and reflective clothes in
the dark. At night, the look-out in front should show a white light and the
one at the back a red light. People on the outside of large groups should
also carry lights and wear reflective clothing. |
| 6) | Motorways. Pedestrians MUST NOT be on motorways or slip roads except
in an emergency (see Rules 271 and 275)
Laws RTRA sect 17, MT(E&W)R 1982 as amended, reg 15(1)(b) &
MT(S)R reg 13 |
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| Crossing the road |
| 7) | The Green Cross Code. The advice given below on crossing the road is
for all pedestrians. Children should be taught the Code and should not
be allowed out alone until they can understand and use it properly.
The age when they can do this is different for each child.
Many children cannot judge how fast vehicles are going or how
far away they are. Children learn by example, so parents and
carers should always use the Code in full when out with their children.
They are responsible for deciding at what age children can use it safely
by themselves.
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| a | First find a safe place to cross and where there is space to reach the pavement on the other side. Where there is a crossing nearby, use it. It is safer to cross using a subway, a footbridge, an island, a zebra, pelican, toucan or puffin crossing, or where there is a crossing point controlled by a police officer, a school crossing patrol or a traffic warden. Otherwise choose a place where you can see clearly in all directions. Try to avoid crossing between parked cars (see Rule 14), on a blind bend, or close to the brow of a hill. |
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| Move to a space where drivers and riders can see you clearly.
Do not
cross the road diagonally. |
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b
c.
| Stop just before you get to the kerb, where you can see if
anything is coming. Do not get too close to the traffic. If there
is no pavement, keep back from the edge of the road but make
sure you can still see approaching traffic.
Look all around for traffic and listen. Traffic could come from
any direction. Listen as well, because you can sometimes hear
traffic before you see it.
If traffic is coming, let it pass. Look all around again and listen.
Do not cross until there is a safe gap in the traffic and you are
certain that there
is plenty of time. Remember, even if traffic is a long way off, it
may be approaching very quickly. |
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| e | When it is safe, go straight across the road - do not run.Keep
looking and listening for traffic while you cross, in case there is
any traffic you did not see, or in case other traffic appears
suddenly. Look out for cyclists and motorcyclists travelling
between lanes of traffic. Do not walk diagonally across the
road. |
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| 8) | At a junction. When crossing the road, look out for traffic turning into the
road, especially from behind you. If you have started crossing and traffic
wants to turninto the road, you have priority and they should give way
(see Rule 170).
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| 9) | Pedestrian Safety Barriers. Where there are barriers, cross the road only
at the gaps provided for pedestrians. Do not climb over the barriers or
walk between them and the road. |
| 10) | Tactile paving. Raised surfaces that can be felt underfoot provide
warning and guidance to blind or partially sighted people. The most
common surfaces are a series of raised studs, which are used at
crossing points with a dropped
kerb, or a series of rounded raised bars which are used at level
crossings, at the top and bottom of steps and at some other hazards. |
| 11) | One-way streets. Check which way the traffic is moving. Do not cross
until it is safe to do so without stopping. Bus and cycle lanes may
operate in the opposite direction to the rest of the traffic. |
| 12) | Bus and cycle lanes. Take care when crossing these lanes as traffic
may be moving faster than in the other lanes, or against the flow of
traffic. |
| 13) | Routes shared with cyclists. Some cycle tracks run alongside
footpaths or pavements, using a segregating feature to separate
cyclists from people on foot. Segregated routes may also incorporate
short lengths of tactile paving to help visually impaired people stay
on the correct side. On the pedestrian side this will comprise a series
of flat-topped bars running across the direction of travel
(ladder pattern). On the cyclist side the same bars are orientated in
the direction of travel (tramline pattern). Not all routes which are
shared with cyclists are segregated. Take extra care where this
is so (see Rule 62). |
| 14) | Parked vehicles. If you have to cross between parked vehicles, use
the outside edges of the vehicles as if they were the kerb. Stop
there and make sure you can see all around and that the traffic
can see you. Make sure there is a gap between any parked vehicles
on the other side, so you can reach the pavement. Never cross
the road in front of, or behind, any vehicle with its engine
running, especially a large vehicle, as the driver may not be able to
see you. |
| 15) | Reversing vehicles. Never cross behind a vehicle which is reversing,
showing white reversing lights or sounding a warning. |
| 16) | Moving vehicles. You MUST NOT get on to or hold on to a moving
vehicle.
Law RTRA 1988 sect 26 |
| 17) | At night. Wear something reflective to make it easier for others to
see you (see Rule 3). If there is no pedestrian crossing nearby, cross
the road near a street light so that traffic can see you more easily. |
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| Crossing |
| 18) | At all crossings. When using any type of crossing you should
| always check that the traffic has stopped before you start to cross
or push a pram onto a crossing |
| always cross between the studs or over the zebra markings. Do not
cross at the side of the crossing or on the zig-zag lines, as it can be
dangerous. |
You MUST NOT loiter on any type of crossing. Laws ZPPPCRGD reg 19
& RTRA sect 25(5) |
| 19) |
Zebra crossings. Give traffic plenty of time to see you and to stop before you start to cross. Vehicles will need more time when the road is slippery. Wait until traffic has stopped from both directions or the road is clear before crossing. Remember that traffic does not have to stop until someone has moved onto the crossing. Keep looking both ways, and listening, in case a driver or rider has not seen you and attempts to overtake a vehicle that has stopped. | |  |
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| 20) |
Where there is an island in the middle of a zebra crossing, wait on the island and follow Rule 19 before you cross the second half of the road – it is a separate crossing. | |  |
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| 21) |
At traffic lights. There may be special signals for pedestrians. You should only start to cross the road when the green figure shows. If you have started to cross the road and the green figure goes out, you should still have time to reach the other side, but do not delay. If no pedestrian signals have been provided, watch carefully and do not cross until the traffic lights are red and the traffic has stopped. Keep looking and check for traffic that may be turning the corner. Remember that traffic lights may let traffic move in some lanes while traffic in other lanes has stopped.
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| 22) | Pelican crossings. These are signal-controlled crossings operated by
pedestrians. Push the control button to activate the traffic signals.
When the red figure shows, do not cross. When a steady green figure
shows, check the traffic has stopped then cross with care. When the
green figure begins to flash you should not start to cross. If you have
already started you should have time to finish crossing safely. |
| 23) | Puffin crossings differ from pelican crossings as the red and green
figures are above the control box on your side of the road and there is
no flashing green figure phase. Press the button and wait for the green
figure to show. |
| 24) | When the road is congested, traffic on your side of the road may be
forced to stop even though their lights are green. Traffic may still be
moving on the other side of the road, so press the button and wait for
he signal to cross. |
| 25) |
Toucan crossings are light-controlled crossings which allow cyclists and pedestrians to share crossing space and cross at the same time. They are push-button operated. Pedestrians and cyclists will see the green signal together. Cyclists are permitted to ride across. | |  |
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| 26) | At some crossings there is a bleeping sound or voice signal to
indicate to blind or partially sighted people when the steady green figure
is showing, and there may be a tactile signal to help deafblind people. |
| 27) |
Equestrian crossings are for horse riders. They have pavement barriers, wider crossing spaces, horse and rider figures in the light panels and either two sets of controls (one higher), or just one higher control panel. | |  |
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| 28) |
‘Staggered' pelican or puffin crossings. When the crossings on each side of the central refuge are not in line they are two separate crossings. On reaching the central island press the button again and wait for a steady green figure. | |  |
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| 29) | Crossings controlled by an authorised person. Do not cross the road
unless you are signalled to do so by a police officer, traffic warden or
school crossing patrol. Always cross in front of them. |
| 30) | Where there are no controlled crossing points available it is advisable to
cross where there is an island in the middle of the road. Use the Green
Cross Code (see Rule 7) to cross to the island and then stop and use it
again to cross the second half of the road. |
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| Situations needing extra car |
| 31) | Emergency vehicles. If an ambulance, fire engine, police or other
emergency vehicle approaches using flashing blue lights, headlights
and/or sirens, keep off the road. |
| 32) | Buses. Get on or off a bus only when it has stopped to allow you to do
so. Watch out for cyclists when you are getting off. Never cross the
road directly behind or in front of a bus. Wait until it has moved
off and you can see clearly in both directions. |
| 33) | Tramways. These may run through pedestrian areas. Their path will
be marked out by shallow kerbs, changes in the paving or other road
surface, white lines or yellow dots. Cross at designated crossings
where provided. Elsewhere treat trams as you would other road vehicles
and look both ways along the track before crossing. Do not walk along
the track as trams may come up behind you. Trams move quietly
and cannot steer to avoid you. |
| 34) | Railway level crossings. You MUST NOT cross or pass a stop line
when the red lights show, (including a red pedestrian figure). Also do
not cross if an alarm is sounding or the barriers are being lowered.
The tone of the alarm may change if another train is approaching.
If there are no lights, alarms or barriers, stop, look both ways and listen
before crossing. A tactile surface comprising rounded bars running
across the direction of pedestrian travel may be installed on the
footpath approaching a level crossing to warn visually impaired people
of its presence. The tactile surface should extend across the full width
of the footway and should be located at an appropriate distance
from the barrier or projected line of the barrier. Law TSRGD, reg 52
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| 35) | Street and pavement repairs. A pavement may be closed temporarily
because it is not safe to use. Take extra care if you are directed to walk
in or to cross the road.
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