Types of crossings

These have a box with a red and green man, which will be on the opposite side of the road to you.

If there’s a control button, push it to turn on and activate the traffic signals.

Wait and be patient while the traffic slows down to stop.

When a steady green man shows and the traffic has stopped, you can cross the road. Stay between the white stud marks for your safety. Do not run across the road. Remember to keep looking and listening whilst crossing the road.

Some crossings have an island in the middle of the road. You should treat each half of the crossing as a separate crossing. Press the control button when you get to the middle island and wait again for the green man.

Puffin crossings are slightly different to pelican crossings because the red and green man are above the control box on your side of the road, and the green man doesn’t flash.

A toucan crossing is a wide crossing for both pedestrians and people riding bicycles. Since ’two can’ cross the road together, the name ‘toucan’ was chosen.

Pedestrian and cycle symbols are displayed on the controls. A related crossing type is the Pegasus crossing for horse riders.

A zebra crossing has white stripes painted on the road with flashing amber beacons on black and white striped poles.

Vehicles should give way to pedestrians at a zebra crossing. If there’s a zebra crossing, use it. However, make sure the learner understands that drivers need time to slow down and stop. It’s important to wait until all vehicles in both directions have stopped. Remember, not all road users follow the rules.

Stand facing the road and wait on the pavement. Give drivers plenty of time to see you and slow down, especially in wet weather when the road gets slippery. Emphasize to the learner that it’s not safe to cross if vehicles are still travelling towards you. When the traffic has completely stopped in both directions, walk across the black and white stripes.

While you’re crossing, keep listening and looking in both directions just in case a driver or rider hasn’t seen you and attempts to overtake a vehicle that has stopped.

Pedestrian islands, or refuge islands, are used when the road is very wide and busy with traffic. Use ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’ to cross to the island in the middle of the road.

Stop on the pavement at the island and use ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’ again to cross the second half of the road. Remember to look all around and listen. Bear in mind the flow of traffic may be different in each half of the road.

Treat each half of the road as a separate crossing. Don’t assume vehicles will stop. Remember, not all road users follow the rules. Check vehicles have stopped before crossing. Walk across the road to the pavement at the other side of the road from where you started crossing.

On quiet streets and roads, it’s still really important to choose a safe place to cross. Look all around for traffic and listen carefully.

Stand still and wait on the pavement. Use ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’ to decide whether it’s safe to cross. When it’s safe, step off the pavement and walk straight across the road to the pavement on the other side.

At times you will need to cross in between parked vehicles. It’s important to assess several things before crossing. First, choose a place where there’s a space between two vehicles. Make sure there’s a gap between any vehicles parked on the road opposite, so you can walk straight to the pavement on the other side of the road when it’s safe to do so.

Before standing on the road between parked vehicles, check the vehicles aren’t about to move off by looking for a driver in the seat and listening for engine noise. Do the same for parked vehicles on the other side of the road.

Remember, a parked vehicle may reverse to leave its space, so before moving, first check all vehicles are stationary and there’s no driver inside. Once you’ve confirmed this, step off the pavement and walk very slowly between the parked vehicles until you reach their outer edge. But do not walk past them onto the open road where traffic is moving. Standing at the outer edge of the parked vehicles keeps you shielded from passing traffic and makes you more visible to drivers. From this position, you can safely look for oncoming traffic using ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’.

On some cycle lanes, there’s a solid line down the middle separating the pedestrians and cyclists. You should always keep to the pedestrian side. But sometimes there isn’t a line, meaning pedestrians and cyclists share
the same space, so be sure to take extra care. Always ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’ before crossing cycle lanes.

Footbridges
If there’s a pedestrian footbridge, you can use it to safely cross to the other side.

Examples of footbridges:

• A footbridge that connects a park and ride to a train station platform.
• A footbridge that provides access from one side of a motorway to the other.
• A footbridge that connects a stadium to a platform.

A subway is a road or path that passes beneath a busy road or railway. Subways allow people to cross from one side to the other and keep them safe, away from the traffic.

If you have to cross the road at a junction, look and listen for traffic turning into the road, and remember to look behind you just in case there’s a vehicle approaching the junction from behind.

In the new Highway Code, rules have changed slightly to give pedestrians right of way at a junction. This means vehicles turning in or out of a junction should stop to let you cross the road. However, this rule is new and drivers won’t always follow it. So, you need to carefully look at the road to check it’s safe before stepping off the pavement and crossing.

A one-way street is a road where vehicles are only allowed to move in one direction, indicated by road signs and markings.

The following key points will help the learner to understand one-way streets.

Traffic flow – Vehicles must only travel in the direction indicated by the signs.

No entry signs – These signs are used to prevent vehicles from entering the road from the wrong direction. However, sometimes vehicles accidentally enter a one-way street, perhaps because they’re not familiar with the local roads, or they’re a new or foreign driver.

Road markings – Arrows painted on the road surface tell you which direction the traffic is supposed to go in.

Make sure you know which direction the traffic is travelling in. Stand on the pavement and carefully check the road and your surroundings. If there’s more than one lane of traffic, only cross when it’s safe to walk all the way across without stopping.

When school patrols or police officers are controlling the traffic, wait on the pavement until they signal to you it’s safe to cross the road. They are responsible and in charge of making sure the road is safe to cross. However, it’s recommended travel companions check the road again before crossing with the learner.

You’re responsible for getting the learner safely across the road, while the school patrol or police officer is responsible for controlling the traffic. Always cross the road in front of them so they can see you and ensure you’re safe.

A tramway is a public transport system that uses trams, or a network of tram tracks. Trams are electric vehicles that run on metal tracks in the road. Trams move very quietly and can’t steer out of the way to avoid you because of the metal tracks they’re fixed to.

Be extra careful where tramways run along the road. These may run through pedestrian areas. It’s safest to cross at the designated crossings.

A bus lane is a part of a road that’s reserved for buses, meaning only buses (and sometimes other vehicles like bicycles or taxis) are allowed to use it. Bus lanes help to minimise traffic congestion.

Buses may go faster than other vehicles and sometimes they go in the opposite direction to the rest of the traffic. Take extra care when crossing bus lanes because cyclists, motorbikes, and taxis may also use them.

A railway level crossing is a point where a railway line intersects a road or footpath at the same level, meaning there’s no bridge or tunnel you can use to cross.

Road users must stop and wait for trains to pass before walking over the tracks. The railway level crossing is usually marked by signs, lights, audible alarms, gates, and barriers (full or half barriers) that close when a train is approaching to keep pedestrians safe. You mustn’t go past the lights when the red lights are flashing, there’s an alarm sounding, or the barriers are being lowered. Always stop behind the line.

If a train passes but the barriers remain lowered, the alarm keeps sounding, and the red lights remain flashing, this means another train is going to pass. Do not cross until the lights go out.

If, for any reason, there are no lights showing, no alarm or barriers for safety, a travel companion should use ‘Stop, Look, Listen, Think’ to make sure it’s safe to cross.

The brow of a hill is the top part of a hill or slope. Other words to describe the brow of a hill are ‘top’, ‘blind summit’, ‘blind spot’, ‘peak’, or ‘hilltop’.

A blind spot on a hill is a part of the road where the slope prevents drivers or pedestrians from seeing oncoming traffic. Because of the incline, vehicles may be hidden from view and can appear suddenly, making it dangerous to cross. It’s important to understand this risk, as vehicles might be much closer than they seem, creating a serious safety hazard.