Horse 732 - Right of Way

I found this article in today's SMH. This has been stolen without permission.

Jordan Baker Transport Reporter
March 13, 2007

SYDNEYSIDERS are confused about the rights of pedestrians, and their mistakes are putting lives at risk, a study has found. Many people are mistaking sections of brick paving and pedestrian refuges with official crossings, and think they have more rights on zebra crossings than they really do, the researchers found.

The authors of the report, published in the international journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, questioned almost 600 people across NSW about their understanding of right-of-way laws. Half the Sydney residents surveyed wrongly thought brick paving on the road gave them right of way. Twenty-seven per cent mistakenly believed a pedestrian refuge was an official crossing.

Sydneysiders were more likely to believe pedestrians had right of way than the respondents in the county.

Julie Hatfield, of the Injury Risk Management Research Centre of the University of NSW, was the report's lead author. She said brick paving confused both drivers and pedestrians.
"[They are] a couple of metres wide and look like they are a crossing, but they don't operate as a crossing," she said. "Nobody is really too sure. There's about 20 per cent that didn't know what the hell they meant."

Dr Hatfield called for these paved sections to be turned into official crossings or removed. "As far as I can see, they have no road safety benefit. I think it is done for aesthetic reasons."

However, pedestrian refuges - bays in the middle of the road to allow pedestrians to cross one section at a time - did have a safety benefit, especially for older people, Dr Hatfield said.

Most respondents knew drivers had to slow down and stop when a pedestrian was on a zebra crossing. However, 71 per cent wrongly thought the pedestrian also had right of way while waiting at a crossing.
The researchers also observed 2854 people on signalled crossings. They found there was confusion over who had right of way when drivers were turning left on a green signal and coming into the path of pedestrians who were also given the green light.

In NSW 78 per cent of collisions between pedestrians and vehicles occur when people cross roads.

This may be a revelation to the people at the Sydney Morning Herald but this is what the law has to say:

Australian Road Rules Act 2000

Section 3. Rights of Way
(2) Pedestrians shall have total rights of way in all circumstances except by operation of appropriate legislation.

&

Section 26. Pedestrians to use footways and footbridges
(1) A pedestrian must not go onto any part of a tollway, motorway or expressway other than a footway or footbridge.

Interestingly nowhere else in NSW traffic legislation are pedestrians even mentioned, which means that as the law stands they have total rights except on motorways where they're not allowed to go in the first place.
Let's apply the law as it stands shall we?

"think they have more rights on zebra crossings than they really do"
Pedestrians shall have total rights of way in all circumstances - What could be more right than 100%?

"Half the Sydney residents surveyed wrongly thought brick paving on the road gave them right of way."
Pedestrians shall have total rights of way in all circumstances - Technically speaking the brick doesn't "give" them right of way, especially considering that they already had total right of way.

"71 per cent wrongly thought the pedestrian also had right of way while waiting at a crossing."
Pedestrians shall have total rights of way in all circumstances - 71% would be correct, they have right of way everywhere except motorways.

"They found there was confusion over who had right of way when drivers were turning left on a green signal and coming into the path of pedestrians who were also given the green light."
Pedestrians shall have total rights of way in all circumstances - Well there should be any confusions, pedestrians have right of way.

"In NSW 78 per cent of collisions between pedestrians and vehicles occur when people cross roads."
Um... where else are they likely to occur? In people's living rooms? Perhaps in the shower? Maybe inside a department store? What is your game here?

Pedestrians have right of way EVERYWHERE. Get that? EVERYWHERE. If you're driving a motor car and a pedestrian runs out in front of you, deliberately, wielding an axe and a shotgun, with the intent to kill you, even if they actually shoot you and kill you rendering your car effectively without a driver and your car then runs over them, it is still your fault.

Pedestrians shall have total rights of way in all circumstances except on any part of a tollway, motorway or expressway other than a footway or footbridge.