lionheart

Just to remind any newbies here in the Arabian Gulf that zebra crossings are rarely obeyed by local motorists. You cross at your peril.

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Traff.../10294044.html

Chris79

They have arrested the guy though. He abandoned his BMW sports car at Marina Mall and fled. Bet he gets let off after a few days - would love to see what would have happened if it was the other way round

Spugsy

In Jumeirah where I work, near spinneys there's a few and I make a point of walking out in front of cars on the zebra crossing so they stop, there's no way I'm waiting, and if they beep or whatever I just stop and stare at the ****ers.

Shadya

Seriously, please don't dice with death. There are some terrible motorists over here. It's not worth taking the risk.

benzonar

Which actual crossing did the French guy get hit on? I thought it was the one halfway up the causeway that has traffic lights and assumed the BMW bloke jumped a red.

As for those other ones you see on the right turns at major junctions, I always play it safe. In London I always used to march straight out on zebras, especially for taxis.

SlumdogPauper

Hello.Kitty

gosh, vying for a Darwin Award?

I've had a few cars stop for me to cross on the raised tables by JBR (but then again, the pity factor of a pregnant woman pushing a pram may come into play) but rarely on zebra crossing. I especially love the ones they put around blind corners...

soukie

I think you are right - it looks like it was the crossing with the traffic lights. What a tragic loss of life but it has to be said that life is cheap here - look at the safety on building sites and way children are allowed to jump around in cars and buses and used as airbags on the front passenger seats. It's OK making the laws but they are rarely enforced - you only have to look at the police as they overtake you on the inside lane without a care in the world. Let's hope that this story makes world headlines to warn tourists of the danger as I'm sure that the tour operators don't alert them to it.

The Dean

But what exactly is the law?

In Bahrain, those crossings are simply intended to indicate where you should cross - they don't imply any "right of way" over vehicles, who as far as I can tell are not under any legal obligation to stop for pedestrians, unlike in the UK.

busybee2

yes the one with the ped lights, but unless you are paying "attention" some people will not expect them there.

busybee2

to be honest because all of the roads in ad are 3 lane or more.... they should get rid of them and either put in bridges, or cross at the traffic lights (which arent the safest i know), the crossing in question is down on the breakwater, and its 4 lane and you just dont expect a set of traffic lights to be put in the middle, as they only are used when the ped press the button, if it was a proper set of lights, that always turn red etc, then people would react to them better.

Investoman_uae

You come to Sharjah... you will see that drivers are more polite... they stop for WOMEN especially whether its a zebra crossing or a donkey crossing.... they stop and allow women to cross.

Of course if you dont stop, you will just look like a twat infront of the other drivers. Bear with the embrassment for the rest of the day... and hang your head in shame, inside your stoopid car.

Women rule in Sharjah....

If you are a man though.... you gota wait for the road to clear... this could take a few hours.

Inv.

Inselaffen

he was French so A Zebra crosiing wouldnt have led him to believe he had right of way. In France you have to be very careful crossing them

Hello.Kitty

On the contrary, in France the pedestrian has absolute right of way on a pedestrian crossing.
As a teenager, my mates and I used to time our crossings to bring traffic to a screeching halt and give a bright, polite smile as they slammed on the brakes.

Meow

I had to check this out for something I was writing about. According to the police, in the UAE, motorists are obliged to stop at zebra crossing for pedestrians. As with many traffic regulations, the police on the street seem to have no interest in enforcing this rule. It doesn't help when the police themselves break so many laws when they drive around.

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