Are cars required to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks? (Chicago: law, legal)

[pete6032]

Are cars required to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks?

[Freefall18]

How is this even a question?

[Attrill]

Yes.

Although I wouldn't just step out into traffic expecting everyone to stop.

[eureka1]

Why do you think we HAVE crosswalks????

[Chi-town Native]

Yes, but I suspect most people don't understand that there are expectations for pedestrians as well.

See the applicable language below. I interpret this as once a car makes a legal stop and has started through the intersection, pedestrians need to wait the .5 seconds it will take the car to get through and cannot just walk in front of it. Joggers specifically are notorious for this- it's really impossible to be in traffic and to try and wait for some guy who is 50 feet from the intersection and may or may not be crossing. You're either in the crosswalk or you're out.

(and pedestrians who don't respect left turn signals should be ticketed with a vengeance)

All that said, I completely agree that the motorists have made their bed here and now have to lie in it. I swear when I walk to the subway in the morning not 1 out of 10 cars comes to even a rolling stop at the intersection I walk through.

A little common sense would go a long way in Chicago...

City of Chicago :: Ordinances pertaining to pedestrians
9-60-060 Pedestrian crossing.


(a) No pedestrian shall cross a roadway at any place other than by a route at right angels to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb except in a marked crosswalk.
(b) No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by eureka1

Why do you think we HAVE crosswalks????

True enough.

OTOH does it make sense to encourage a pedestrian to walk across a four lane street like Western or Irving Park where there isn't a traffic light?

And what happens when we get BRT on these streets? Should 50 - 100 people using public transportation have to grind to a halt for one guy so he doesn't have to walk 1/8 of a mile?

I support this law 100% everywhere but those arterial streets, I think they will ultimately remove many of those crosswalks to reduce the City's liability, as it isn't like anyone is actually enforcing any of these laws during rush hour/when it counts.

[s0nginmyheart]

I got in a yelling match with some b*tch in Lakeview a couple months ago. I typically stop for pedestrians who use the crosswalk (with common sense), I should preface. But I was at a stop light, my light turned green and this pedestrian decided she could still cross the street while cars are now in the green (holding up traffic in two directions). Her BF or whomever she was with knew better and did not cross. I honked my horn angrily at her for crossing when it was not her "green light" and she said she had the right of way. She deserved to be called a b*tch, right?!

[emathias]

You are required to stop for a pedestrian in a cross walk, however at a signaled intersection cars do have the right-of-way when they have the light and are only required to stop if the pedestrian shows intent of crossing (and then it's just a matter of safety, not right-of-way) and the pedestrian could be ticketed (although this is rare).

At a non-signaled intersection or mid-block crosswalk, the pedestrian would not be ticketed regardless and the bar for intent is less - basically even if they just appear to be waiting, cars are technically supposed to stop and could be ticketed if they do not (in practice cars usually stop if the pedestrian looks intent on crossing, but not if they look like they could be looking for a cab, for example).

[Vlajos]

As someone else said.

Yes.

[pete6032]

Do they have to stop on Western if you're crossing the street?