French regulations concerning pedestrians crossing roads are ambiguous. Pedestrians must: (1) cross the road only if there is no immediate danger; (2) use a crossing where this is no further than 50 m; and (3) cross the road at junctions in the continuation of the footway. Drivers must allow pedestrian to cross when they are considered to have started crossing. In fact very few drivers do so. There are many reasons for this - the driver cannot be hurt; drivers expect pedestrians to let them pass; cars travel at speed, while pedestrians move more slowly. There are two reasons why a pedestrian hesitates to cross the road: (1) a misunderstanding - the driver will stop if the pedestrian starts crossing, while pedestrian will not start crossing because he is not sure the driver can stop; and (2) if car stops too close to pedestrian, he will be afraid to cross. However many pedestrian crossings are installed, the problem remains that drivers do not observe the regulations relating to crossings. About 200 pedestrians are killed annually on pedestrian crossings in France. Painting white strips 5 m before crossings appears to have some effect in making drivers stop. Pedestrians must be educated to step on a crossing and then stop, so that driver can see them and stop in time.
Abstract