A video in which a young man waits tens of seconds in the middle of the street before he manages to cross has heated up the discussions on the Internet. “The bottom line is that they will soon realize that fines also generate a lot of money. Civilization is coming whether you like it or not,” the conclusions were drawn.
A pedestrian crossing the street who has to wait for seven cars to pass from the moment he stops in the middle of the road until he is able to cross safely has sparked a long discussion on a social network.
The young man was halfway across the road and stopped to make sure he could continue his crossing safely. The first driver did not give him priority, neither the second, nor the third…, only the eighth driver stopped. The situation, captured in a video posted on Reddit, has garnered hundreds of comments.
People, drivers and pedestrians alike, were disgusted by the images, not understanding the drivers’ behavior. “It didn’t even last 10 seconds, he’s a teenager, not an old man in a wheelchair, they could leave the car in high gear, because it didn’t take them more than 5 seconds to cross to the other side”readers began to give their opinion.
“The boys are very upset! I have the impression that it’s the crossing from the entrance to Podu Iloaiei, on the way to Iași, and they just got rid of the queue there. Every weekend you wait about 30-40 minutes. In any case, it’s very bad if you don’t even let the one halfway through”a commenter tries to find an explanation, even if it doesn’t excuse breaking the law.
Other commentators warn that drivers will civilize “after 2100 onwards”, otherwise it happened faster for fear of fines “of 2100 euros”.
“10-15 years ago you thanked a driver if he stopped at the crossing to let you cross as a pedestrian. Now I’ve had cases where, distracted by my phone, I’ve stopped at a crossing and held the driver in place, thinking I wanted to cross. But there are also cases like this that remind you that we are still Romanians in the end”the debate on reasons continues.
“Naples? There the traffic rules are suggestions”
Examples from other states also appear, inevitably. “In Denmark/Holland or England, not even once did I suffer from not stopping people at the crossing. In my Romania, my Romanians step on me at the crossing”;
“I’ve lived in the UK for 15 years and it happens a lot like in this video, plus a big problem here is that there is no turn signal. My theory is that in the UK when someone gets their driving license they get a limited number of ‘signals’ (I don’t know the right word) because they only use the signal on special occasions”;
“I was in Rome recently, you’re afraid to cross the green as a pedestrian, I think it’s the most horrible traffic I’ve ever seen.”;
“I also experienced it in Italy, more precisely in Vicenza. Since then I only go through traffic lights”;
“Naples? Have you ever been to Naples? There the traffic rules are suggestions”;
“I’ve been living in Italy for 17 years and I’ve seen a lot of people hit on the pedestrian crossing. In Italy it’s the same as in this video”;
“I bet the same people in the video don’t act like that outside? When you’re among your “peers” let them all go. Outside with strangers you have to behave”, Romanians also compare it with what they have seen on the roads in other countries.
What our roads lack are video cameras, another conclusion emerges. “That’s why they don’t want cameras everywhere, because they run out of permits in 2 days”, explains what would happen in the case of video evidence.
Other commentators say how they proceed in similar situations, on the one hand to ensure that they do not expose themselves to too great a risk, and on the other hand to manage to pass, however, when drivers think that no one sees them and “enforce” the traffic rules.
“Usually, at these stages, I raise my hand horizontally (like Nazis), I don’t stand like a pole, so that those fools can see that something is moving, because anyway I know that many people are beating their heads and they don’t even pay attention to make it obvious that someone is passing by. There are also situations where the crossings are unmarked at night, without lights or something reflective, and the pedestrian is dressed all in black, like a ninja, there I am mega activated when I’m behind the wheel”another Romanian explains.
“In this case, the problem is not that they don’t see you, but that they don’t care. Even if they don’t see the pedestrian, they can see the car stopped at the crosswalk. Why would a car stop suddenly at a pedestrian crossing?”, another commenter puts the dot on I.
“Knowing how to start a car does not make you a driver”
“11 cars pass until someone stops them. Terrible! He could fake a step forward, force someone to put on the brakes suddenly, and a chain accident would occur.”the scenario continues. “Knowing how to start a car does not make you a driver”, the Romanians remind each other.
Video cameras at every crossing, approved and connected to a central server, and the problem would be solved quickly, reappears the proposal that would also solve the budget problems the country is going through.
Controversy: Was the pedestrian in the right-of-way or not?
Finally, another dispute appears, and the commentators say that similar phases have been presented before, and certain specialists who gave their opinion would have claimed that the cars have the obligation to stop at the pedestrian crossing only if the pedestrian engaged in the crossing is already in the direction of travel of the cars. “How can you get in the right direction if no one is stopping, that’s none of their business.” the situation is presented.
“That as far as I know applies if there is refuge in the middle. That marking is not refuge in any form,” the controversies begin.
“Precisely, that it does not apply if it is a refuge. It applies on any road with at least one lane per direction”;
“And when you have to give priority on the right, do you only give like that, if he’s already crossing? If you have a car on the right and you don’t give priority, it’s called not giving priority. It’s the same here. The fact that the pedestrian can’t cross because you’re cutting his way is called not giving priority.” opinions are issued.
The discussions were held in other terms than those already present, and the commentators ended up addressing each other with harsh words, reaching, as has been happening for over a year now, the discussion about the elections, about the IQ of the voters, etc..
“In the UK there are places where you have crossings that are not marked, they are like islands or speed limiters, here you are not obliged to stop for pedestrians, they are only in the area with low traffic and/or where the speed limit is desired. I’ve never seen a driver who doesn’t stop at the zebra crossing, and there are even people who stop when they see the person on the sidewalk. When I drove in Romania, nobody respected the speed limit, overtaking every 5 minutes and I drive badly in general. I saw one who didn’t even stop the car when he refueled. We are 100 years behind but we get angry when we are criticized”, the debate continues.
At the end of the installation of video cameras in all problem areas, there is a proposal: to pay for the driving school “over 3,000 euros and exams so difficult that all the illiterate, illiterate and uneducated of the country fail”.
“Crossing of herds of bison”,
“Absolutely insane. Pedestrians need to be dropped and forced to do school again,” continue the proposals.
Other drivers write that in similar situations they stopped and were, instead, penalized by the drivers behind them for stopping suddenly, although the obligation to keep the optimal distance from the car in front rested with them.
“The worst is the driver at 00:15 who chooses to overtake and thus not have the faintest idea whether the pedestrian is moving or not. If he had moved right then, and the car in the left lane (the driver I’m referring to) had braked, then he would have had zero chance of avoiding the impact with the pedestrian, with a high possibility that that accident would have resulted in a fatality”, image analysis continues.
“Pedestrian’s mistake! He had to pass quietly, without looking, maybe even with his eyes on the phone and headphones on his ears! It was his right!” an ironic comment also appears.
“Respect as respect, but I’d be afraid to hit them at speed like that in front of the man on the way.” writes another driver.
“The healthiest for crossings like this is to have a few boulders in your pocket and that doesn’t stop, put one in the side window/rear window. Sorry, boss, you missed the other meaning!”, comments keep coming.
What the legislation says
According to Article 6 of the Emergency Ordinance 195/2002 regarding traffic on public roads, “granting priority” is “the obligation of any traffic participant not to continue moving or not to perform any other maneuver, if by doing so he obliges other traffic participants who have priority to pass to suddenly change their direction or speed of movement or to stop”.
Art. 101, paragraph (3) provides: “The commission of the following acts by the driver of a motor vehicle, agricultural tractor or forester or tram constitutes a contravention and is sanctioned with the fine provided for in the III class of sanctions and with the application of the complementary contraventional sanction of suspending the right to drive for a period of 60 days:
…
e) not granting the priority of passage to pedestrians engaged in the regular crossing of the public road through the specially arranged and signposted places, located in the direction of movement of the motor vehicle, the agricultural or forestry tractor or the tram;
Art. 72 para. (2) from GEO no. 195/2002 explains under what conditions pedestrians have priority: “Pedestrians have priority over vehicle drivers only when they are engaged in crossing public roads through specially arranged, marked and signalized places, or at the green color of the traffic light intended for pedestrians”.
The crossing rules for pedestrians are stated by Art. 72 para. (3) – “Crossing the public road by pedestrians is done perpendicular to its axis, only through specially arranged and properly signposted places. In the absence of these places, in localities, pedestrians can cross at the corner of the street, only after they have ensured that they can do so without danger for themselves and for other traffic participants”.
