Stopping For Pedestrians: You Should Do It.

Q: I frequently see vehicles stop in moving traffic to allow pedestrians to cross outside a crosswalk. I know they are just being courteous but doesn’t that create a more dangerous situation for the pedestrian? Can you advise us on the rules of crossing and when it’s appropriate, if ever, to go outside them?

A: From the context of your question, I think we’re talking here about pedestrians crossing the street mid-block, but there’s also the possibility that there’s a misunderstanding about crosswalks, so let’s address that first. Some folks might think a crosswalk is created by painting white stripes at an intersection. Actually though, the crosswalk was there before any paint was sprayed. A crosswalk is the ten foot wide strip that connects the corners of an intersection, whether it’s been marked by paint or not.

I bring that up because drivers are supposed to yield to pedestrians, cyclists and personal delivery devices (that delivery part is new) when they’re using a crosswalk, and the law makes it clear that it applies to both marked and unmarked crosswalks. If the drivers referenced in this question are stopping at intersections to let pedestrians cross, even when there are no zebra stripes on the road, they’re doing the right thing.

What about pedestrians crossing the street mid-block? When I was a kid I was taught that you’re only allowed to cross the street at a crosswalk, but that’s not really true. Good advice, especially for a kid, but not required by law. The law states that a pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than a crosswalk “shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles”. As long as pedestrians yield to traffic, crossing the street mid-block is generally legal, with one significant exception. Between intersections controlled by traffic signals (as opposed to stop or yield signs), pedestrians are only allowed to cross at crosswalks. In many city environments that makes a mid-block crossing illegal.

Let’s imagine a scenario where a pedestrian is hoping to cross mid-block (and it’s a location where it’s legal to do so). While the person waits for a gap in traffic, a driver sees them and stops, waving at the pedestrian to cross. Has the driver violated any rules? Not that I can find. Is it dangerous for the pedestrian? Maybe, if other drivers don’t see the pedestrian or aren’t expecting to have to stop.

For the pedestrians, while often legal, crossing the street mid-block isn’t usually your best option. Sure, when you walk across the street in your neighborhood to borrow a cup of sugar it’s likely not a big deal. But drivers don’t usually expect pedestrians in the street, so they may not notice you as soon or respond as quickly compared to when they approach a crosswalk.

For the drivers, even if the pedestrian breaks the law or otherwise crosses in an unsafe manner, there’s one fundamental principle to follow: don’t hit the pedestrian. You might need to give up the right-of-way that a pedestrian should have granted you, but that’s a tiny sacrifice. When you’re the biggest thing on the road, you have to be the safest.

Since you mentioned it, let’s briefly address driving courtesy. Courtesy should be part of your driving skill set, because it’s part of being a good human. But in being courteous, you shouldn’t sacrifice predictability, because that’s part of being a safe driver. I just realized that in this article we’ve covered what I’ll call the driving trifecta: follow traffic laws, drive predictably and practice courtesy. That should be on a t-shirt or something.