Pedestrian Crossings

There are a number of
different types of pedestrian
crossings you will come across
on the road, some more
frequently than others but
nevertheless you should understand all of them and
know what to do at every
type of pedestrian crossing as
it is required for both parts of
your driving test. Currently there are 5 types of
pedestrian crossings and these
are: 1. Zebra - A zebra crossing is marked with white and back
strips on the road, hence the
name zebra, and amber
flashing beacons at either side.
The Highway Code states that
drivers must give way to pedestrians at this, however
pedestrians must remain on
the side of the curb until the
oncoming vehicles have
stopped. A zebra crossing is
the cheapest pedestrian crossing to build and maintain,
however use of these aren't
recommended where the
speed limit is higher that
35mph because when
travelling at higher speeds, it becomes harder for drivers to
see far enough in front to stop
at the crossing. 2. Pelican - A pelican crossing is one of the more common
crossings and this is where
there is a red, amber and green
light facing the drivers and a
red and green man facing
pedestrians. When pedestrians push the button to cross the
lights facing the drivers turns
from green to amber and then
red, and the pedestrians walk
sign turns from red to green.
These crossings are very popular in busy areas as it has
a dual function, it acts as a
pedestrian crossing and a
traffic controller. 3. Puffin - A puffin crossing is similar to a pelican crossing
however the signal indicating
when the pedestrians are able
to cross is located above the
button they press to active the
crossing. This is to encourage pedestrians to face oncoming
traffic and look themselves
instead of relying on the
crossing.