#RoadRights Situation 10 – Standing in a crosswalk while talking on the phone.
Play along! Did you guess correctly?
The Answer: No. The pedestrian should not be standing in the crosswalk.
By standing in the crosswalk, the pedestrian has established they have the right of way. This puts the person driving in a precarious and unpredictable situation as they legally should wait for the person to cross, but in this instance, they can’t be sure if the person intends to cross. Crosswalks are for people walking, not standing. In this situation, the person walking should return to the sidewalk, out of the roadway, and away from the curb. By doing so, they give the driver the right-of-way. Additionally, acknowledging the driver and indicating that they are not planning on crossing the street makes the situation safer for everyone. The driver can safely proceed without wondering what the person intends to do.
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1 Comment
Lisa Brady · April 20, 2021 at 3:44 pm
This is an ambiguous question and somewhat loaded. It leads a person to believe that the pedestrian is totally distracted. If the pedestrian cannot see around the vehicles to their left, they can assume this position to see and be seen, I’d say even at a signal controlled intersection. This is important in the urban environment because of the heavy right turns on red and with increasing issues with red light runners. This is very context sensitive.