Drivers Must Yield Right of Way to Pedestrians

On the road, you have a variety of rules you must follow, from maintaining a safe speed to following critical traffic signals. Many drivers, however, fail to recognize one important rule: the need to yield right of way to pedestrians around them.

Looking out for Pedestrians

Pedestrians, or people using the road without a motor vehicle, create a smaller visual profile than people in passenger vehicles. Pedestrians include people on foot, in a non-motorized wheelchair, or people in a motorized wheelchair. You may also need to keep an eye out for people using skates, skateboards, or scooters, which can travel at a faster rate than people on foot, but which still travel at a much slower rate than motor vehicles.

Because of their smaller overall size, pedestrians look different to drivers and may be harder to note. When behind the wheel, your eye often focuses on large hazards. Typically, you will keep your attention on other passenger vehicles. Anything—or anyone—smaller than a car might entirely escape your notice.

To help protect pedestrians on the road, train your eyes to pay attention to smaller hazards and items on the road. Learn to look toward movement. You should pay particular attention around elderly individuals, children, and intoxicated people, who make up the majority of pedestrian injuries in collisions.

Pedestrian Right of Way

In most states, pedestrians have the assumed right of way. As a driver, you should pay special attention to these key areas.

Intersections

In an intersection, pedestrians have right of way, including the right to cross the road first when a driver has come to a stop. Every intersection has an assumed crosswalk, even if you do not see the painted lines on the road that indicate a crosswalk. Generally, pedestrians should cross at specific intersections when possible. Always take time to look for pedestrians in intersections and allow them to cross.

Crosswalks

Some areas, especially busy cities, have crosswalks at areas other than intersections. Crosswalks, with their painted designations, encourage pedestrians to cross the road at specific locations. Always exercise caution around crosswalks, where pedestrians might cross the road unexpectedly. If you notice a pedestrian waiting to cross, consider stopping to allow them across. See a pedestrian in the crosswalk? Even if you otherwise have right of way, you must wait for the pedestrian to cross safely.

Signals and Signs

Some intersections and crosswalks have specific signs that let pedestrians know that they have right of way. When the green light or man appears, pedestrians know they can safely cross the street. Pay attention to pedestrian signals as you drive as well as to your own traffic lights and signals. For example, if a crosswalk light turns green, you may not legally turn right on a red light if pedestrian traffic needs to cross through that intersection.

Pedestrians in the Road

Pedestrians may enter the road for a variety of reasons. In all cases, with a pedestrian in the road, the burden of care to avoid a collision rests with the driver. You must allow pedestrians to safely occupy that space and avoid putting them in danger, even if maintaining that safety for pedestrians otherwise conflicts with your right to use the road.

Pedestrians Crossing the Street

Crosswalks, intersections, and street signs may offer specific places where pedestrians should cross the road. However, not all pedestrians use those spaces.

If you note a pedestrian in the act of crossing the street, you should avoid the pedestrian and give time for him to cross the street safely. Sometimes, that may mean coming to a stop and blocking traffic. Other times, especially in residential areas, you may have room to drive safely around the pedestrian.

Pedestrians Walking in the Road

Most busy cities and downtown areas include sidewalks where pedestrians can walk safely. Some areas, including many residential areas, however, do not offer those precautions. In those areas, pedestrians may simply walk on the road to reach their destination.

Some people enjoy taking walks around the neighborhood, even without sidewalks for safety. Others may need to use the road to reach their destination. While pedestrians may choose to walk along the side of the road, especially in high-traffic areas, many also choose to walk on the road directly.

As a driver, you must take responsibility for avoiding pedestrians on the road, especially if pedestrians have no sidewalks available. You should slow down and leave plenty of room to pass pedestrians. Make sure that you have plenty of room before attempting to pass.

The Dangers of Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian accidents can cause serious harm to the pedestrian. Unlike passengers in a motor vehicle, pedestrians have no protection from the road or from a vehicle that strikes them, and they may not have adequate time to get out of the way if a driver commits an error that puts them in danger.

As a result, they may suffer severe injuries, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and multiple broken bones. Pedestrian accidents can also quickly result in death, especially if the accident occurs at a high rate of speed.

Pedestrian deaths account for around 17 percent of auto accident fatalities each year. As the driver of a passenger vehicle, you may experience little or no injury as a result of a pedestrian accident. However, the financial and emotional impact of that accident can stay with you for a long time.

When Do Pedestrians Bear Liability for an Accident?

The authorities may assume driver liability in a pedestrian versus automobile collision. In particular, the driver may face liability for an accident involving a child, since people bear a higher duty of care to keep children safe than they do other adults. However, in some cases, pedestrians behaving recklessly may bear liability for an accident that they cause.

A pedestrian might bear liability due to:

• Intoxication resulting in reckless behavior
• Jumping out in front of a car with no warning
• Deliberately causing an accident

Keeping Pedestrians Safe on the Road

As a driver, you can take several important steps to help decrease your risk of an accident and keep pedestrians on the road with you safer.

1. Avoid distractions while driving.

At 40 miles per hour, you travel 3,520 feet per minute. If you take your eyes off the road for just five seconds—the average time it takes to look at a text message—you can travel 270 feet, which represents more than half the length of a football field.

In an area of dense traffic or an area where you have trouble seeing clearly, you could hit a pedestrian before even recognizing that person’s presence on the road with you. When driving, keep your eyes and attention on the road and your hands on the wheel. The more distractions you allow, the greater the likelihood that you will inadvertently cause severe injury.

2. Make a habit of looking out for pedestrians.

In some areas, you may already know that you will see a great deal of pedestrian traffic. You may know, for example, that the area around a school often sees higher pedestrian traffic, including children, during drop-off times in the morning and pick-up times in the afternoon. If you live in a neighborhood filled with people who like to go for walks, you may get used to the patterns of people around you. In those areas and at those times, pay particular attention to pedestrian movements.

Even when you do not expect pedestrians on the road, however, take care to look out for them. Note signs of movement. If you do see a pedestrian, particularly an elderly individual or a child, keep an eye on that person and track their movements. Make sure you know where that person is located as you move your vehicle around him.

3. Stop to give pedestrians the right of way.

Pedestrians may not follow the rules you expect them to follow on the road. They may jaywalk or even ignore your presence completely as they cross the road. While you may find it frustrating to wait for a pedestrian to cross the road, generally at a much slower rate of speed than your motor vehicle, you must legally yield right of way and allow that person to cross safely. If you notice a pedestrian who seems to plan to cross the road, even if you feel that person will wait for you to pass safely, go ahead and stop if possible.

4. Exercise particular caution in school zones and around school buses.

School zones have specific posted speed limits to which all drivers must adhere. In some areas, those restrictions occur primarily during specific times of the day, when more children must use the road to reach their destination.

Even if you believe that you have traveled through that area at a time when fewer children need to use the road, however, slow down in those areas and exercise extra caution. Children often behave particularly erratically and unpredictably, which can substantially increase the risk of an accident.

When school buses stop and flash their lights, with the stop sign attached to the bus extended, it clearly indicates that drivers need to stop and wait for children to exit the bus. Drivers on both sides of the road should always stop and wait for the bus to move on unless the bus stops on the opposite side of a divided highway. You cannot know which side children will use to exit the bus, and if you fail to pay attention, it could result in a severe accident.

5. Follow traffic signs and adhere to speed limits.

Even pedestrians following the rules of the road and behaving responsibly cannot always keep themselves safe if you do not adhere to the posted rules of the road. For example, a pedestrian who regularly walks in a specific area may know that she has plenty of time to cross the street before a vehicle reaches her, as long as the vehicle follows the posted speed limit.

A speeding driver who comes barreling toward her, however, may reduce her ability to calculate potential risk and raise the odds of an accident. Likewise, a driver who ignores traffic signals, including stop signs and red lights, could end up striking a pedestrian who waited to cross safely, but expected the driver to come to a stop at an intersection.

At a high rate of speed, you may also decrease your ability to respond to the actions of a pedestrian. As you fly down the road, you may not have adequate time to stop your vehicle before you strike a pedestrian. If you do not stop at an intersection, you may travel through at a higher rate of speed than anticipated and fail to see the risk to someone else on the road.

6. Protect visibility from the driver’s seat of your vehicle.

Keep your windshield clean and clear at all times, regardless of the season. In the rain, make sure your windshield wipers work adequately and do not leave smears across your field of vision. In winter, give your car adequate time to defrost and remove all snow and frost before getting behind the wheel, even if you need to wait longer to head toward your destination. If you cannot see clearly out of your windshield, it raises the odds that you will miss the presence of a pedestrian in the road and cause a serious accident.

Keeping up with pedestrian traffic helps keep everyone on the road safe, and reduces the risk that drivers and pedestrians alike will find themselves on the wrong side of an automobile accident.