| Comment | Those rules from the highway code are non-statutory. Turning left/right into the junction, drivers "should" give way, but there is no legal requirement.
Anyway, nobody is taught those rules. As a child I remember getting taught "Stop, Look, Listen" and "Look: Left, right, left" and only cross when cars are not coming.
Then, when learning to drive I was taught to NEVER give way to pedestrians unless they are already crossing. There's a massive safety reason for this. It's way, way more dangerous to yield in some situations.
Consider you are wanting to cross from the drivers right hand side and he slows down to let you stop. Meanwhile a cyclist moving up on the left hand side can't see you and can't see why I have decided to slow down and stop in the middle of a road. You likewise can't see the car or cyclist passing me on the left because it's behind my non-transparent vehicle. You cross over while that car/motorbike/bike passes me on the left. You step out from the protection my car offers only to get killed by the passing vehicle. It might appear discourteous for me not to let you cross in this situation, but it's far safer if vehicles keep going on their way while pedestrians "stop, look and listen" and "look left, right and left". |
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