{"id":1087,"date":"2016-01-14T08:03:42","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T07:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=1087"},"modified":"2025-03-25T12:59:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T11:59:46","slug":"cross-the-road-safely-vienna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/cross-the-road-safely-vienna\/","title":{"rendered":"How to cross the road more safely in Vienna"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/crossing-the-road.jpg\" alt=\"Crossing the road sign\" class=\"wp-image-14357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/crossing-the-road.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/crossing-the-road-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>So you&#8217;re probably thinking, &#8220;Hey, this isn&#8217;t rocket science &#8211; I think I know how to cross a road&#8221;. And you&#8217;d probably be right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But&#8230;there are some local habits that might make it more complicated than you were expecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jump on public transport with a <a href=\"https:\/\/viennawelcomecard.at\/en?ref=77695468&amp;campaign_key=CrossRoad\" rel=\"sponsored\">Vienna Welcome Card<\/a>* travel pass<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/travel-and-weather\/\">Travel in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1632\">Sightseeing areas<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Black and white stripes across a road indicate a &#8220;Schutzweg&#8221; for pedestrians to cross safely (in theory). In fact, if there is such a zebra crossing within 25m of where you want to cross, then you&#8217;re obliged by law to use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two main types of crossings: unregulated and regulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Without stop\/go lights<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/unregulatedpedestriancrossing.jpg\" alt=\"Zebra crossing in Vienna\" class=\"wp-image-44684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/unregulatedpedestriancrossing.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/unregulatedpedestriancrossing-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(A &#8220;Schutzweg&#8221; for pedestrians)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Unregulated&#8221; crossings are marked with warning lights or a simple traffic sign like in the photo above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is where you need to be particularly careful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The law obliges drivers to stop and allow pedestrians unhindered passage across the road if the pedestrian is on (or clearly waiting to use) the crossing .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But they don&#8217;t always stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most do, if they see you waiting, but some don&#8217;t. A survey in Vienna back in 2021, for example, found 1 in 10 drivers did not do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can be quite a shock to those used to, for example, UK driving habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I&#8217;d advise always waiting to cross until the cars actually stop for you. Even then, keep an eye out: I&#8217;ve seen cars overtake those cars that stopped to let pedestrians cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The even safer option<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/couplescrossing.jpg\" alt=\"Couples lights at a pedestrian crossing\" class=\"wp-image-44682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/couplescrossing.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/couplescrossing-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The couples lights found throughout the city, but mostly in the centre)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Regulated&#8221; crossings use&nbsp;stop\/go lights for pedestrians in combination with traffic lights for vehicles, so are even safer to use of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take care though. At junctions, for example, a green pedestrian light doesn&#8217;t always mean all cars have a red light. Those turning onto the road you&#8217;re crossing may still have a green light, though they should normally wait for you to cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The typical sequence for the pedestrian lights is nothing unusual:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Red person (don&#8217;t cross)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Green person (um, cross)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flashing green person (lights are turning red imminently so don&#8217;t start crossing)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Back to red person<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re lucky, you might find one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/couple-lgbt-lights\/\">&#8220;couples&#8221; pedestrian lights<\/a> put up when Vienna hosted the Eurovision Song Contest (pictured above in one version; same-sex couples are also common motifs for these lights).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At most junctions, pedestrian lights tend to change automatically. However, you might need to press a button to activate the process. This is quite common at regulated pedestrian crossings located away from an actual junction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The below photo shows an example of one such situation. Here, you need to press the button marked &#8220;bitte dr\u00fccken&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pedestriancrossingpushbutton.jpg\" alt=\"Pedestrian crossing button\" class=\"wp-image-44683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pedestriancrossingpushbutton.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pedestriancrossingpushbutton-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Not every box needs pressing like this one. Some are only there to help vision-impaired people)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this example, the word &#8220;warten&#8221; (&#8220;wait&#8221;) shows up and the lights will eventually change in your favour. If you don&#8217;t press the button, the lights may never change:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/activatedpedestriancrossing.jpg\" alt=\"An activated pedestrian crossing\" class=\"wp-image-44681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/activatedpedestriancrossing.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/activatedpedestriancrossing-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Waiting times vary: one or two notorious crossings seem to take long enough for a change of government in the meantime)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes you find a Schutzweg at a junction with traffic lights, but without pedestrian lights or any other indications that it&#8217;s a Schutzweg, other than the black and white road markings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That situation is a little more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may cross when traffic perpendicular to the Schutzweg has a red light. But, again, traffic turning into this road may have a green light. So take extra care. They are obliged to stop for you, but only in theory and by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Equally, some road traffic lights cease functioning at night (they blink orange). Even so, the Schutzweg rules should apply. However, some drivers don&#8217;t realise this (or choose to ignore the rules). So be extra careful if crossing at such a junction at such a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Safe journey!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So you&#8217;re probably thinking, &#8220;Hey, this isn&#8217;t rocket science &#8211; I think I know how to cross a road&#8221;. And you&#8217;d probably be right. But&#8230;there are some local habits that might make it more complicated than you were expecting. Black and white stripes across a road indicate a &#8220;Schutzweg&#8221; for pedestrians to cross safely (in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1087","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-transport","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1087"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81511,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087\/revisions\/81511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}