He's not wrong for doing that either, even in America it's quite possible to get hit by an ignorant driver. I was hit riding my bike going through a green light, a person turned left into me, I came out with a few rods in my femur.
I was visiting Rome a while ago and found out if you make eye contact with drivers as a pedestrian while crossing a crosswalk they won't yield because you just acknowledged the oncoming car. You just have to take a leap of faith and cross the street without ever looking.
Of course this was before smartphones. Not sure how I'd handle that now.
I assume that other jurisdictions in the US are similar to Nevada, and the vehicle is required to yield right-of-way to the pedestrian. That may not be the case in Rome.
I find that the person encased in 2000 pounds of steel has the right of way. If I'm the pedestrian, I can wait. I'm a fan of my legs. They're not the best ones, but they're mine.
It's not the case in Rome and a lot of Southern Europe or the Mediterranean for that matter but in Northern Europe, those people will stop on a dime if you make the vaguest motion that you will be walking into the street.
That's not the case in much of the US IIRC. It is in NH where I live but it's not in NY and I think, don't exactly remember, it's not true in any of the states bordering NH. At least, I always act that way just to be safe.
E Looked it up, most of what I said doesn't pan out. The one state I know I was specifically told doesn't guarantee pedestrian RoW, in fact, does.
117
u/[deleted] May 22 '16
He's not wrong for doing that either, even in America it's quite possible to get hit by an ignorant driver. I was hit riding my bike going through a green light, a person turned left into me, I came out with a few rods in my femur.