I am pro-cyclist, but there are occasions like this afternoon when I do question that stance.
I was crossing the zebra crossing on Gylemuir Road EH12 with another pedestrian just behind me and had reached halfway when I realised that an approaching adult male cyclist looked as though he was unlikely to stop, so I therefore paused and sure enough the cyclist cut in front of us both with a cheery "Hello!" in passing. He then mounted the pavement farther along the street, cycled to the access to Tesco Extra Corstorphine, and proceeded to ride along the footpath, at the front of the store, which was busy with late Saturday afternoon shoppers.
By chance, I caught up with him at the cash machines so I asked him, "Does the Highway Code not apply to you?". To which his response was, "Nope, especially pedestrians.". Admittedly, it was a candid response, but I did not discuss it any further with him as it seemed futile.
Looking online, however, the answer to my question - Do cyclists have to stop at zebra crossings? - is not as clear-cut as I had first thought. For instance, the Highway Code section for cyclists seems to be more concerned with cyclists crossing zebras than whether they should actually
stop for pedestrians on them? Then there is this
from the UK Cycle Rules website
which talks about according precedence to pedestrians on zebra crossings - "you don't have to stop".
Regardless, in my view it is simply best practice and good manners for cyclists, rather than riding in front of them, to give priority to pedestrians who are midway or farther across a zebra by stopping and allowing them to reach the pavement before setting off again?
I, of course, do accept that only a tiny minority behave like the gentleman this afternoon. The issue for all sensible cyclists though is that such people spoil things for the responsible majority?
Highway Code Rules 64, 195
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