Q: I was driving on Alabama Street when the flashing red light on the HAWK signal had turned off and the pedestrian had completed crossing the road. Cars coming from the other direction remained stopped. I continued through the crossing because a car on my left obscured my vision of a pedestrian waiting at the crossing. Are drivers obliged to stop or can they proceed through until the light for the pedestrian activates and the red light for cars comes on? Did I act illegally?
A: Back in the day when laws were printed on paper and bound in books (they probably still are but I rely on the internet version) the thickest title in the legal code was the part about motor vehicles and traffic. If I were forced to summarize that entire part of the law in two words, it would have to be, “Don’t crash.” That’s the motivation for nearly every law in Title 46. Speed limits, intersection controls, signs, vehicle equipment and lighting, impaired driving, licensing, bike and pedestrian rules; they all work together to create a shared system that road users hopefully understand and observe so that we can prevent crashes. There are a few laws, like car pool rules, that are more about efficiency than safety, but they make up a tiny slice of the giant pie of traffic laws.
I say all that to in order to make the following speculation; maybe the drivers who stopped to let the pedestrian cross even though HAWK signal wasn’t activated were following the over-arching rule of traffic law (don’t crash) because they’re unfamiliar with the actual rules about HAWK signals. Or maybe they understand the law but don’t know some of the finer points about HAWK operation. Let’s sort it out.
To begin, imagine HAWK signals (Hi-intensity Activated crossWalK – don’t get me started about the ridiculous acronym) as four familiar traffic signals combined into one device. The default mode for a HAWK is all lights dark for vehicles (meaning it is not providing any traffic control) and a solid hand indicating “don’t walk” for pedestrians. Once the pedestrian pushes the button cross the street the HAWK displays flashing yellow lights to oncoming traffic. According to Washington law, when drivers encounter a flashing yellow light they can proceed with caution. It’s sort of a “hey, pay attention here; things are different than normal” kind of a signal. After a short time the flashing yellow becomes a solid yellow. Just like at a typical traffic signal, the solid yellow is a warning to get ready to stop because a red light is on the way. A solid red light means stop as long as the solid red is illuminated (and if that wasn’t already obvious I suggest you consider forfeiting your driver license). At this point the pedestrian gets the “walk” signal. The last phase of the HAWK is a flashing red light, which works just like a stop sign – stop and then continue after yielding to anyone with the right-of-way, which in this case is most likely going to be a pedestrian completing the crossing of the street. After the flashing red light phase the HAWK reverts to its default mode again.
There is one more detail about HAWK signals that many people may not know. Once the signal is activated by a pedestrian and goes through all its phases, it stays in its default mode for a predetermined amount of time even if another pedestrian pushes the button to activate the signal. It does that to allow any backed up traffic to clear the intersection and prevent congestion. I suspect that the drivers you described in your question weren’t aware of a built in delay so when they saw the second pedestrian push the button they expected the HAWK signal to activate and they remained stopped.
As you’ve already concluded by now, you didn’t act illegally by driving through the intersection even though other drivers had stopped for the pedestrian. And even though they weren’t required to remain stopped, I’m glad to see drivers watching out for pedestrians. While overall traffic fatalities have fallen in the last couple years, pedestrian fatalities have increased. It’s good to know that drivers are watching out for them, even if it is because of confusion about HAWK signals. If we want to reach zero fatalities on our roads, it’ll take all of us watching out for each other.
We all of course view life from our perspectives, which are largely influenced by our experiance. As a person that sees life from the perspective as a driver, even though I’ve walked hundreds of miles on streets with HAWK lites, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve pushed a button to stop traffic to allow me to cross. I viewed that from a drivers perspective. That was not courteous to drivers and traffic. A drivers perspective is in great contrast with Police, judges, lawmakers, and to a lesser degree with a pedestrians perspective, or a cyclists. All these are people of equal value, and all need the care of the others to improve life for all.