What Was She Thinking?
Sixty-some years ago two post-war, baby-boom parents began teaching their son about looking both ways before crossing a road, and then proceeding only if it was safe. Since they did not live in a city...
Forum Discussion
SpeakEasy wrote:fred42 wrote:
I am finding this topic very educational, but I am a little confused.
Which of the following are we talking about?
1. Painted crosswalk where there is no associated traffic light for the vehicles
2. Painted crosswalk where there is an associated traffic light for the vehicles but no separate signal system for the pedestrians
3. Painted crosswalk where there is an associated traffic light for the vehicles and a separate signal system for the pedestrians
OP here. I don't know what others are talking about, but the situation I described was #1 - painted crosswalk, no traffic light anywhere nearby.
-Speak
Thanks, that makes more sense. Let me try to restate this:
1. If I am in a vehicle and approaching a crosswalk that has no traffic signal to stop vehicle traffic, the pedestrian has the right of way and I must make every effort to yield to them. As already stated, a low speed limit works best in these situations as does alert, observant pedestrians.
2. If I am approaching an intersection crosswalk where there is a traffic signal and I have a green light:
a. A pedestrian already in the crosswalk "has the right of way" in the sense that I am required to yield to them and not run over them if possible.
b. That person does not "have the right of way" in the sense that they are entitled to use the crosswalk when the oncoming traffic exists and has the green light and the pedestrian signal (if there is one) tells them to not cross. I don't know about the US, but in Germany, failure to obey the pedestrian signal will bring a fine and instant public outrage.
