According to traffic regulations, pedestrians have the right of way at crosswalks. But what does that actually mean in practice? What happens if someone steps onto the zebra crossing while listening to music through their earbuds and scrolling the news on their phone?
The latest (3rd) episode of Drivingcast delves into parental responsibility, conscious traffic behavior, and the lack of mutual trust, while also exploring the darker sides of pedestrian traffic.
As mentioned in the episode, while children used to naturally pay attention to the road—counting cars and license plates—today it’s common for them to be handed a tablet in the car, cutting them off entirely from the outside world.
“That child will grow up. Looking around won’t seem important to them. They won’t become socially adapted to traffic,” the experts warned.
According to them, parental responsibility is crucial:
“We can’t leave everything to the schools. Traffic awareness begins at home—by waiting for the green light, by showing that you have to pay attention to others on the road,” emphasized László Csörgő.
One of the key topics of the discussion was the lack of mutual trust in traffic.
Although the Hungarian Highway Code (KRESZ) states that all road users are entitled to assume that others will follow the rules, this is often not the case in reality.
“In about one-third of pedestrian crosswalk accidents, the pedestrian is not at fault,” noted journalist Dániel Zách, “but in many of the remaining cases, partial responsibility can still be attributed to them—such as stepping onto the road without paying attention, suddenly running into the street, or being distracted by their phone.”
The experts also discussed how constant online presence, attention disorders, and the fear of missing out (FOMO) have led many people to lose touch with their physical surroundings—even while walking as pedestrians.
At the end of the episode, the experts also touched on the upcoming revision of the Highway Code (KRESZ), which is expected to include new regulations on pedestrian device use at certain crossings—such as railway crossings.
Currently, the rules are much more general, but according to the experts, it’s time to introduce more detailed regulations to improve pedestrian safety.
The full conversation is now available on the following platforms: