What do "Walk/Don't Walk" signals actually do?
I was crossing the street today, and my kid had to of course push the button for the "Walk" signal. If I'm alone, I normally wouldn't bother, cause I just cross when the light is green. So I was wondering, is there any info the walk signal gives you that the green light doesn't?
Everywhere I've been, when you have a walk light it means that all the other traffic lights in that intersection are red, to (in theory) insure the pedestrian doesn't have to deal with any moving traffic while crossing.
Last edited by Taumpy; 10 Aug 2010 at 10:51 AM.
Hmm...see, now, that makes sense, but ours seem to follow the green light. While I was waiting there, the red hand was up through the red light and the green left-turn arrow, and then it turned to the little walking guy when the regular green light appeared for the cars.
I'm afraid I don't understand the setup you describe. I always thought the the "Walk/Don't Walk" signs were the equivalent of our European little red and green men. Do you have both a "Walk/Don't Walk" sign and colored light for pedestrians or are you talking about the green light that cars use, too?
The Walk/Don't Walk signs are the equivalent of you red and green men, fiz. The green light I'm talking about is the one that the cars use. I usually just follow those. When the car traffic light turns green for the direction I'm going, I just go then. Where I live, the walk light won't turn unless you push a button on the light post, and I usually don't bother.
Then I'd say that at simpler intersections they are redundant and are just there as a matter of principle. "car" lights don't apply to pedestrians and the other way round.
Everyone follows their own light because at more complex intersections it can be difficult to figure out the big picture from looking at someone else's light. There might always be some lane crossing your path that has a green light without it being obvious.
I pretty much always press the button if it is there, and I will wait for the actual walk signal (rather than just the green light for the cars) before I walk, unless traffic is extremely light or nonexistent.
My reason for this is if I get run over I want it to be crystal clear I had the right of way, I was in the pedestrian walkway and had the walk signal.
I thought the WALK light made it so that the lights were all red (I've seen only a few of these), or the protected arrows didn't come on, that sort of thing, to allow pedestrians a clear path. Also, I always wonder if I could get charged with jaywalking if I don't have a signal...
One bit of information that most walk/don't walk signals have that the traffic signals don't is that when the light goes from walk to blinking don't walk, you've got 20-30 seconds to clear the intersection before the automobile traffic lights change.
Well, I crossed the same intersection today, and Loki is right. It started blinking way before the traffic light changed to yellow...before I even got across the street, in fact.
Yes. If there is a pedestrian signal and you cross when it says "Don't Walk" that's jaywalking, and you technically can get a ticket for it, at least here in Mass. and also in New York where I used to live.Originally posted by artifex
In real life law enforcement often looks the other way, they've got better ways to spend their time than handing out citations to kamikaze pedestrians. It depends on the jurisdiction though.
They don't over here. Still have to deal with drivers who think that 2 tonnes of metal gives them the right to never look where they're going! :Shake:
Yeah, they definitely don't here, either. Wouldn't make sense in a large city in areas where there's a lot of foot traffic...it would cause major gridlock where I am.
I doubt it would where I am, but more than once I've almost been knocked over by drivers insisting that I can't cross the road, even though I have a walk light, because they want to turn right.
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