Situation:
I'm riding in the bike lane between a single lane of traffic on my right, and either parked cars or the curb on my left. The traffic isn't moving so I'm riding cautiously. Pedestrians will cross the road from either side, not at a zebra crossing or intersection, due to cars giving them extra space or there simply being gaps due to the static traffic. They rarely look at the bike lane so I'm either having extremely close calls or ringing my bell feeling rude interrupting their oblivious shuffle across the road.
Am I legally supposed to give way to pedestrians crossing the road in this situation, even if they're dumb enough not to even look at the road? Often when they cross from the opposite side of the street I don't really see them until they're standing in the middle of the bike lane due to the shape of many vehicles.
VicRoads has this on their site:
Pedestrians are not allowed to:
- cause a traffic hazard by moving into the path of a driver
- walk along, or fail to give way when crossing, a path which is for bicycles and wheeled devices (a path showing a 'Bicycle lane' sign).