Pedestrian right of way?

[American]

Hi all looking for some guidance regarding pedestrian right of way. Basically do pedestrians ever have the right of way when there is no traffic light and no zebra lines? On many occasions I have almost been mowed over by cars speeding down my small street while crossing the intersection. There is a stop sign for cars but half the time they only do a Hollywood stop and gas it even when I cross the road at the intersection - even if reached mid road before the cars reach the stop sign. Often times I have to jump back toward the sidewalk to avoid being hit. There are no zebra lines only a line for the walkway. Do I always have to yield for cars? On one occasion my foot was within an inch of being run over. I whipped out my phone and snapped pics of the car because he didn't even stop at the stop sign. He got out of his car and threatened me not to put his photo on the internet and said he has the right of way because there are no zebra zig zag lines. Was he right?

I assume I can start video recording cars that don't stop and refuse to yield to pedestrians and turn it into the police. It's getting quite frustrating - enough for me move and a completely souring experience. I've lived in New York Taipei Seoul and Tokyo and have never encountered such rude car behavior. Travelled to HK and it wasn't this bad. By the way My street is not very busy but is very close to a major shopping mall.

[sundaymorningstaple]

The only place a pedestrian has the right of way is at a designated zebra crossing where the big horizontal bars are across the road. But don't just assume you can close your eyes and step off the curb. Lot's have tried it and were mowed down by Merc's & Black BMWs who thinks it's their grandfather's road. The only other is where the intersection is governed by traffic lights including the "green man" traffic signals. Yes, rolling stops here are the norm and no, taking film clips of them doing rolling stops is not going to do anything as really, it just hampers traffic flow which is bad enough already. So, welcome to Singapore and Singapore style traffic. Get used to it or buy yourself a ticket out of here. It's about the only two choices you really have. I'm a Yank as well and I've been here for well over 3 decades. It's frustrating at times but there you go. What to do?

[x9200]

"Roads are not for pedestrians."

This is an approximate quote of what an NUS professor I met long time ago claimed to hear from a police officer after a cab hit him (the prof, not the policeman) breaking his arm. He heard this as a response to his comment that the taxi driver could have easily stopped to avoid the accident. It was outside the zebra crossing. The prof had just moved to Singapore from Australia. Whether this is true or not I have of course no way to prove but I see no reason to made up this sort of stories.

[American]

Got it. So Cars are king. If you see a Benz or Bimmer coming toward your way stay off the road get on one knee and bow until they pass.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Just about! I have a personal vendetta against black beemers. Well, not the car but the drivers who all seem to have a entitlement complex.

[Brah]

My advice, expect no regard for pedestrians, whether or not in crosswalks, and know that drivers here are largely clueless. Count the cars on any given night which driving with no headlights.

Sometimes you can mitigate this by glaring right into the driver's eyes as they get close.

Just yesterday had to glare at a guy in a BMW on a small side road as I was halfway across the little entrance to a parking area when he attempted to pull into it without slowing down and with no regard for me. I was not about to run out of his way nor should I have.

I stopped, blocked him, glared, stood there a few seconds, and did what I could to educate him. Did I? probably not, but at least one of the people in the car would have told him he was a butthead for being that way. The others probably said the same about me.....

It's all about kiasu.

[MikeJones]

Just about! I have a personal vendetta against black beemers. Well, not the car but the drivers who all seem to have a entitlement complex.

As a former dark blue BMW driver (in the UK not here) I completely understand that remark, while I was of course an exemplar of courteous and considerate driving there were an awful lot of complete prats driving beemers. Interestingly over the last few years the mantle of "most knobhead drivers" in the UK was passing to Audi drivers for some reason.

As for here, does no-one get taught what the indicators are for? I have to cross two non-controlled intersections on my way to work and the number of cars that just blithely turn the corner without indicating at any point is unreal. I have now determined that you can't step out into the street until the car has actually gone past you as you've got no idea at all what they're going to do until that point, maybe the drivers don't either?

Mike

[nakatago]

Got it. So Cars are king.

More like the not-so-secretly murderous duke looking for every opportunity to usurp the throne.

Learn parkour if you can.

[x9200]

As for here, does no-one get taught what the indicators are for?

The indicators are to pass the vehicle inspection. Without them, no way, sorry.

[ecureilx]

[quote="MikeJones"]As for here, does no-one get taught what the indicators are for?

The indicators are to pass the vehicle inspection. Without them, no way, sorry.[/quote]

And hazard lights are to tell others you have choped the parking spot ...

[Strong Eagle]

Folks... drivers in Singapore are sweethearts... pussycats... compared to drivers in Houston. Maybe 1 in 3 uses turn signals for anything. Aggressive drivers in jacked up 4 wheel drive 3/4 ton pickups tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic. Pedestrians? Screw'em... they shoulda bought a pickup truck and quit walking. And then there are the muttonheads that insist on driving slowly on the inside lane... the terminally clueless and the redneck crackers who think it is their "right" to f*ck up traffic. Make this happen a speed twice what anyone drives in Singapore, then throw in streets in such bad condition it makes Houston look like a 4th world country, and you'll get a sense of what really shitty driving is all about.

[x9200]

True. Most SG drivers are not aggressive. I have met like 3 actively aggressive morons over ++10 years of driving/riding in SG. Still at the and of the day if you ran over, it matters less what type it was.

[justsee01]

Please delete this comment

[JustSee]

They might not be aggressive, but they are plain morons with no sense of courtesy or any knowledge of how to properly drive a car - and we all sat with a cabbie who is too fond of the gas/brake pedal or tailing, I just sat with way too many.
What actually pisses off more is the lack of enforcement, seems SGPD doesn't care much fining people that are actually risking people's lives, driving recklessly or talking on their mobile with both hands.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I agree with the above. They are not as aggressive as US drivers in general by far (except for the drivers of Black BMWs) but they are total morons who are just plain inconsiderate or if not, just clueless and don't drive further than the tip of their noses. And I also agree about the lack of enforcement (but if they did enforce, they would need to double the size of the TP force for sure).....