Safety with E24|7: Zebra crossing fine?

Have you ever refrained from stopping before a pedestrian crossing while a pedestrian intended to cross?
 
This offense may seem relatively innocent to some, but is charged with a hefty fine of Dh500 and 6 black points.
 
Yet, pedestrians rarely ever cross a zebra crossing without having to wait until the road is free, or a kind-hearted motorist gives way.
 
Pedestrians are simply not respected, feels Barbara Wirechester, a British resident in Tecom who likes to go for a walk.
 
"I like to take a walk in the evening and often do so. However, it is always a safety hazard, wherever I go. Nobody stops for the pedestrian. Now I walk in the park."
 
Kinda Souri, a Syrian resident in the Greens feels the same way. Although she likes to consider her community pedestrian friendly, it is the motorists who spoil this reputation.
 
"There are plenty of crossings and a lot of greenery for the residents to enjoy. There are many people out and about during day and evening.
“I have to be cautious every time I cross a pedestrian crossing."

"The car in the first lane might stop,  but you do not know if the car in the next lane will.”
 
"I walk with a stroller. I always make sure that motorists in both lanes have seen me before I set one foot on the crossing. Often this means that I wait for minutes before I can cross," says Elizabeth Taylor, an American resident in Tecom.
 
According to Mohammad Saif Al Zafeen, Director of the Traffic Council all road users should be alert when on the road, and thus pedestrians should always practice caution.
 
However, nobody gets a licence without learning that you must stop at a pedestrian crossing, he said earlier in an interview with Emirates 24|7.
 
In the same interview he suggested that all zebra crossings are provided with traffic signals in the emirate.

“I really think that signaled crossings would be a solution. I think there are enough pedestrian crossings inside the city, but many of  these are without traffic signals and are unsafe," he said at the time.
 

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