Courtesy crossings are usually made of bricks or paving or raised above the level of the road. A courtesy crossing is not an official pedestrian crossing, but to be polite, you should stop for people on the footpath waiting to cross. You must give way to people already crossing.
AFAIK we don't have jaywalking laws (certainly the word "jaywalking" is not locally recognised except as something that is foreign/American).
Our cops are pretty busy - you would have to be pretty unlucky to get a ticket. But also the social norms in NZ are to be polite - drivers tend to be more forgiving towards pedestrians than some other countries. The justice system is definitely very unforgiving towards anyone that actually hits a pedestrian.
> The justice system is definitely very unforgiving towards anyone that actually hits a pedestrian.
I have to disagree. Where I live in NZ a local elderly couple were run down by an impatient driver turning into a quiet side street. One died, the other was critically injured. The same driver had recently accepted fault for hitting and injuring a motorcyclist.
The sentence? 250 hours community work, $15,000 to the family as an emotional harm repayment, attend a defensive driving course, and disqualification from driving for nine months.
I might add that the driver was a very wealthy businessman (so the monetary amount is likely insignificant).
NZ also has courtesy crossings:
AFAIK we don't have jaywalking laws (certainly the word "jaywalking" is not locally recognised except as something that is foreign/American).Our cops are pretty busy - you would have to be pretty unlucky to get a ticket. But also the social norms in NZ are to be polite - drivers tend to be more forgiving towards pedestrians than some other countries. The justice system is definitely very unforgiving towards anyone that actually hits a pedestrian.