I have traveled to a few countries in Europe, and I have noticed different rules and treatments for painted and unsignalised zebra crossings over tram tracks. Some countries trams have priority over pedestrians on zebra crossings, while in other countries, pedestrians have priority over trams (if the zebra crossing extends over the tram tracks). One time, I saw a supposedly Dutch tourist almost got hit by a tram outside Brussels South Station. How is the law/treatment in your country?
My observation of places I have been so far:
Trams have priority over pedestrians:
- Belgium (Brussels and Antwerp)
- Czechia (Prague)
Pedestrians have priority over trams (if zebra crossings are painted across tram tracks):
- Netherlands (Amsterdam)
- Germany (Frankfurt) EDIT: Looks like in Germany, trams have right of way on zebra crossings
- Austria (Vienna) EDIT: Looks like in Austria, trams have right of way on zebra crossings
No zebra crossings over tramways (that I know of):
- UK
- Ireland
If there are any other special rules regarding zebra crossings in your country (e.g. buses having priority), feel free to share it!
Comments
Here in Norway they have the right of way over pedestrians.
Do UK and Ireland only put signalised crossings over tram tracks?
In Belgium the rule is simple, every vehicle that is on tracks has right of way.
So indeed, trams, but also trains, have absolute priority over everything. Also ambulances and fire trucks have to stop for them.
Uhm, nope, trams do have priority at unsignalled zebra crossings in AT.
I understand it’s a question about the rules, just to be clear:
On zebra crossings over tram lines pedestrians have priority in Finland. Tram priority crossings are unpainted or have a picture of a tram.
Seems strange to hold up potentially hundreds of people in a tram just so one person can cross slightly faster. Here in Edinburgh we have very large trams though. UK norms are a bit different to some places on the continent in that as a pedestrian, you are not expected to wait for a signal to cross as long as the way is clear.
In Portugal they have the same priority rules as other vehicules, so pedestrians would normally have priority.
Hell no, trams don’t have to yield to anything in The Netherlands for the simple reason that they don’t exactly stop on a dime.
In Romania the tram is obligated to stop if a pedestrian is crossing. The law defines trams, buses, cars, bikes as vehicles and all vehicles must give way to pedestrians, if they are crossing on the zebra.
Trains have a special mention and pedestrians cannot cross when the barriers are down or the red lights are flashing.
I don’t really know the law, but in Germany the sign “hat vorrang” (give way) is common on zebra crossings over tram rails.
Also, the rule “big fish eats small fish” has internationally greater validity than the law…
In Sweden trams always have right of way. As far as I know, there are no zebra crossings across tram tracks.
I think we don’t have zebra crossings in the tram, all the crossings are regulated with semaphores, so my guess is that trams have priority. I only know about Barcelona but maybe other cities of Spain are different
Trams have right of way over pedestrians, the only place trams have to stop for people is where there are traffic lights for crosswalks etc. there are crossings over tramlines here, but if not governed by a traffic light, people have to yield.
I don’t think pedestrians ever have the right of way over a tram – just from the logical point of view, a tram cannot stop easily and therefore can’t let pedestrians pass unless the driver can see them from a fairly far away. I’m fairly sure pedestrians don’t have a right of way at least in Vienna (haven’t visited the rest of cities you mention).
Edit: the rules might change (at least here in Czechia) in pedestrian zones. I know at least here, a tram gives cars the right of way and sometimes even pedestrians in those zones. Outside of them, though? Definitely not.
I misread your title as “do trans people have right of way over pedestrians” and I was very confused for longer than I would like to admit
Ireland has very few unsignalised zebra crossings in general. Until I believe last year, legislation mandated flashing amber lights on them, so the majority of them have those.
There are pedestrian crossings at some Luas stops where the trams would be at their lowest speed but these aren’t technically zebra crossings. I think trams have right of way but obviously they’re not going to mow someone down intentionally.
>Germany (Frankfurt)
Pedestrians do not have priority over trams in Germany.
I’ve only been living in Kraków for a year so take this with a grain of salt. While trams do and can stop/wait for pedestrians – especially if they were already crossing while the tram was stopped – the behavior that I’ve observed is that we look to make sure trams aren’t about to pass before crossing on an unsignalised zebra crossing.
Trams have right of way over pedestrians and other traffic (unless a sign or traffic light says otherwise), even if there’s a zebra crossing.
Zebra crossing are only used on roads with mixed traffic and are avoided on isolated tram tracks.
>The [pedestrian] crossing itself must be marked out, but since pedestrians are required to give way to trams, the crossing’s “zebra marking” should not be used across public transport lanes that include tram tracks.
>– page 16, Design at crossings where trams run in public transport lanes – the conflict between safety, design, and legislation
The general unspoken rule in Amsterdam is to make it the most efficient for everyone. If a tram passes and I’m just one pedestrian or cyclist, gonna let it go by, even if it’s my right of way. Officially there are some rules, but in the sake of efficiency people bend rules to make it quick for everyone.
I don’t think there are any zebra crossings over tram tracks here in Germany?
Sad Lithuanian noises.
There are yellow warning signs at tram crossings in Ireland that say ‘look both ways’ and a picture of a tram so i would assume trams have priority
I’ve never lived in a city with a tram, but it wouldn’t ever cross my mind to cross in front of a moving tram, no matter what paintings are on the ground.
It seems like basic common sense. Don’t put yourself in front of a vehicle that goes on tracks.
Honestly, who should have the right of way, a person who can stop literally between one step and the next, or a tens of tons heavy vehicle that won’t stop for several metres even when braking like crazy?
I haven’t found anything specific about italy but I know that in general pedestrians have priority over anything on the road (excluding emergencies). But the pedestrian has to check that it’s safe to cross anyway (for example if a car is too close and can’t stop safely it has the right of way over the pedestrian).
So I guess the tram should stop if possible, but if someone crosses while the tram is arriving at a speed and can’t stop in time it’s probably not going to be the tram’s fault.
> Pedestrians have priority over trams (if zebra crossings are painted across tram tracks):
> Austria (Vienna)
wrong.
I’m trying to remember if I ever encountered a pedestrian crossing over the tram tracks without traffic lights.
In Italy, trams have right of way over everything except pedestrians crossing at zebra crossings. Obviously, they must obey traffic lights and road markings and signs that require them to stop.
In Hungary at zebra crossings pedestrians have right of way over trams.
Czechia, Slovakia is opposite.
I mean, physics make this a pretty easy question no? Vehicles on tracks can’t stop unexpectedly, it makes zero sense for them to stop for anyone, let alone pedestrians. In the countries you mentioned where pedestrians have priority, how does that work?
They have right of way, because they’re much too fast and heavy to have the capacity to stop if someone is crossing at the wrong moment.
In Czechia trams do have right of way over pedestrians since, if I remember correctly, 2000. But before that, pedestrians in Czechia did not have right of way on zebras, so, both trams and cars did not have to give way to pedestrians. This changed that year, but trams got exception. There were some other changes since then and recently a lot of cities with trams started to remove zebras over tram tracks. Buses and trolleybuses, however, do not have right of way, even if they are riding tram tracks and even if that track is marked as bus lane. And this leads to a lot of confusion when even the bus drivers think they have right of way, when they don’t.
However, there is one exception to this rule and that’s pedestrian zone. In pedestrian zones even trams have to give way to pedestrians. Plus they need to keep the speed limit of 20 km/h in those zones. However, there aren’t that many pedestrian zones with trams in Czechia. The most famous is, probably, in Brno from main train station on Masarykova Street and Náměstí Svobody. And trams aren’t really an issue there, cyclists are. Especially food delivery idiots. But that’s debate for another topic.
The information for Germany is wrong, the law specifies that pedestrians have right of way on pedestrian crossings, except for vehicles on rails. So Trams have always right of way on “zebra crossings”.
Ireland: No vehicle has right of way over a pedestrian once they are on the road.
Right of way on unsignalized pedestrian crossings is covered by article 14.1 of the rules of the road in Russia, and this article makes no distinctions between trams and other vehicles. Pedestrians have priority over trams.
Only emergency vehicles with the siren and the strobe lights on have priority over pedestrians.