From my understanding, the law changed in 2021 regarding this and since 2022 there is a higher fine when drivers do this.
Notice how the car is moving through the crosswalk before the person walking is even barely halfway across?
However, enforcement is an issue and from my observation, many drivers are making this careless, reckless, selfish and dangerous decision ALL THE TIME.
And it makes me very, very angry.
I checked in with a peer in mobility (thank you for the insights Julius) who shared that according to data from his Polish colleagues, there were 145 fatalities at zebra crossings in 2022 compared with 234 fatalities in 2019.
How do we continue to reduce and ultimately try to eliminate senseless fatalities due to driver impatience and potentially fatal error?
•greater monitoring of traffic offenses
•societal awareness
•campaigns
If you are working on the latter two or in a position to lead awareness building campaigns and would like collaborative support please feel free to email me at info@pedestrianspace.org
Anyone who follows Pedestrian Space knows my great committment to walkability as well as my deep love of simply walking.
However, on a near daily basis I experience this unnecessary and dangerous driver behavior in zebra crossings.
Walking with my children through crosswalks, I’m always on high alert as it is so painfully obvious how little many drivers care about the safety of those crossing.
Next time you are behind a wheel and tempted to drive through a crosswalk before people have cleared out if it, DON’T. Next time you are a passenger and see a driver doing this, STOP THEM.
-Annika Lundkvist, FSI
