That’s not the question you need to ask while travelling – think about how you will cross instead. Different places have different traffic systems, and some will hit you with a nasty fine if you do the wrong thing.
You don’t have to worry about fines in Malta, but you do have to consider the possibility of being hit by a car coming through a red light at speed. Or a bus. In Germany and Austria people tend to keep to the law, rather than risking the 200 euro fine. In Australia and New Zealand the laws are a bit more relaxed and people tend to cross when it’s safe, and we’ve never heard of people being fined, though apparently it happens.
There are also different systems that you need to be aware of. In some places the green man comes on at the same time as the green arrow allowing traffic to turn, in others when the man starts flashing cars are allowed to go if the crossing is clear. Which means the engines start revving to encourage pedestrians to hurry up.
All this means that you need to be vigilant when crossing the road. Of course, when you’re in a country where drivers drive on the opposite side that you’re used to, you need to be careful, but there are other factors to consider. So, a few tips on crossing the road when travelling:
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Best Travel Podcast!
Written by: Craig and Linda
Posted on: Saturday, September 27th, 2008
Posted in: General, Podcasts
Responses: 22 so far
Why did the chicken cross the road?
So that its subjects will view it with admiration, as a chicken which has the daring and courage to boldly cross the road, but also with fear, for whom among them has the strength to contend with such a paragon of avian virtue? In such a manner is the princely chicken’s dominion maintained.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:29 pmI envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:30 pmIf you ask this question, you deny your own chicken nature.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:31 pmWhy did the chicken cross the road?
I don’t believe we need to get the chickens across the road. I say give the road to the chickens and let them decide. The government needs to let go of strangling the chickens so they can get across the road.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:36 pmWhy did the chicken cross the road, my lord?
It had a cunning plan.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:37 pmTo die. In the rain.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:38 pmIf you saw me coming you’d cross the road too!
September 27th, 2008 at 7:40 pmChickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in such a way that they are now genetically dispositioned to cross roads.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:41 pmThis Chicken is no more. It has ceased to function. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. It’s a stiff. If it wasn’t nailed to the road it’d be pushing up daisies. It’s snuffed it. It’s metabolic processes are now history. It’s bleeding demised. It’s rung down the curtain, shuffled off the mortal coil and joined the bleeding Choir Invisible. This is an Ex-Chicken. Ergo, it did not cross the road.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:43 pmTo purchase Chicken 2.01a, which will both cross roads and calculate the energy it used. There are bugs, yes, but if you uninstall Traffic 2.0 and Farmer 1.2 it will run. If it freezes at WhiteLine 2.0, we have a patch …
September 27th, 2008 at 7:45 pmChicken? What’s all this talk about chicken? Why, I had an uncle who thought he was a chicken. My aunt almost divorced him, but we needed the eggs.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:48 pmLook. When I see that chicken. I see an outcast from Society. A bird driven to desperate. Acts. By eighteen years of society’s. Disintegration. Under the Conservative. Government. My vision. Is of a Third Way. Where the People’s Chicken. Will be elected to a fixed-term position. And can negotiate whatever thoroughfares. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy dictates. New Labour. New Chicken.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:49 pmWhy did the chicked cross the road?
It was a habit.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:51 pmWhy did the Chicken cross the road?
Because he had missed the Health & Safety seminar. If you had read my report: page 48, section D…
September 27th, 2008 at 7:53 pmgood travel tips!
September 28th, 2008 at 10:53 amThe chicken crosses the road to get to the coffee shop on the other side. And to make it to the next street to cross.
The little crossing man is white in a lot of places, although I prefer the British-style walking man a lot more. He’s just classy.
September 28th, 2008 at 11:51 amI’ve never seen a white crossing man: where did you see him? I’ve been trying to find a picture of the iconic East-Berlin walking man, but can’t.
It’s always about the coffee, huh? Thinking of which…
September 29th, 2008 at 9:51 amAah, my pet peeve in Australia (or at least in Melbourne) are the pedestrian crossings.. I hate how you have to hit a button to let it know you want to cross. If you don’t get to it on time, you end up having to wait for a full cycle before the next opportunity. The only thing this achieve as far as I’m concerned is frustrating a lot of people into crossing when the light is red. What a useless system.
When travelling, the big thing is to kill your habits of only looking in the direction you’re used to. I’ve almost been run over more than once because of that.
September 29th, 2008 at 5:50 pmI find that most people America cross the street when its safe (even if it not at a crosswalk) though New York and other large city’s are entirely different animals then places like Ohio where I am. if the road looks to busy I will just wait for the the little man. though there not a lot of pedestrian traffic most places in the USA because most people drive because of all of the malls and strip malls.
October 1st, 2008 at 8:31 amPeter, Jeff: thanks.
I think the light-phases are similar in these antipodean colonies (that’s NZ and Aussie). It can be frustrating, but since it’s culturally appropriate to cross when it’s safe (enough!) that’s fine.
European friends of mine are always surprised when crossing Queen Street in Auckland. All the crossing lights go at the same time, so people are crossing to the opposite corners…creating a *real* crossroad.
So Friends can be wrong! I’ll never look at the TV in the same way again. It’s nice to know one can cross the road against the lights up there too.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:00 amThe crossing man is white in Canada, though I think I’ve seen green ones as well.
Crossing etiquette varies… in Montreal, anything goes, including crossing in front of oncoming traffic. In Ottawa, you’ll get the look of death from most pedestrians if you dare step off the curb before the light changes. Though in Winter, no one will stop you from jaywalking if it’s -40 celcius.
I am proud to say that I did master crossing the road in Cairo, Egypt. It’s sort of a choreographed dance between 8 lanes of oncoming traffic and a handful of pedestrians gracefully crossing one lane at a time with cars whizzing by on both sides. Saw a police officer get across holding a tray of full tea cups!
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:50 am