weepej wrote:
I'd certainly be slowing down and be prepared to stop.
This whole "be prepared to stop" is a bunch of bolleaux really, isn't it. Being mentally prepared to stop doesn't prevent a collision where a pedestrian steps from an obscured position into the road at the last moment, and making physical preparation for such an event effectively involves stopping at any crossing that has pedestrians anywhere near it, since the speed from which one can safely stop if a pedestrian steps out reduces along with the distance to travel to the crossing.
Claiming one is not biased against sensible motoring, and yet suggesting that millions of miles of road be reduced to a crawl in order to mitigate for the comparatively rare event of a pedestrian stepping out without looking does seem rather incongruous!
Going by the HC, if everyone behaved as they should, then a car approaching a crossing with nobody on it and a flashing amber light need not be prepared to stop, since pedestrians should not be starting to cross once the green man begins flashing. Of course the sensible motorist will proceed with caution, but likewise one would expect a pedestrian who is going against the guidance of the HC to take steps to ensure their own safety. Personally I have waited at the kerb of a light-controlled crossing with regularity, even though the traffic light is red, when I am uncertain if an approaching car will stop.
If someone on a mobile phone wanders blindly across a tennis court and gets hit in the head by a tennis ball, whose fault is it? How about if the same person fails to see warning signs and slips on a wet floor, or steps down an open manhole? What if they trip on uneven pavement? What if they step off the kerb accidentally and twist their ankle?