Pedestrian Crosswalk Scenario (Fairfax: school, lawsuit, dangerous)

[justtitans]

Okay so I was driving to work this morning and I was almost at the office when this guy suddenly came out in the middle of the crosswalk from the other side of the street to cross while crossing traffic has green lights. I had very limited time to react so I kept going. I felt bad but I also felt very conflicted. Do I slam on my brakes and stop for this person and risk being hit from behind or do I find a way to stop? Not only that but I also noticed there was a median there. I am not completely familiar with VA laws but does the median serve as a buffer of sorts for crossers or are you required to stop regardless of the median being there or not?

[sullyguy]

Here's what Virginia's Legal Code says: Crosswalks

My reading of subsection B (and I for sure am not a lawyer) says you can plow down the pedestrian...

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Medians CAN serve as "buffers" in that you don't have to stop for a flashing-light schoolbus that's on the other side of a median. One of my major pet peeves is cars stopping in just such a condition. Another is cars stopping when they are turning left when coming upon a schoolbus in front of them or to the right at an intersection; the buses are nice enough to NOT stop right AT the intersection to give the clueless the hint that it's okay to make those turns still (because, of course, you are NOT "passing" a schoolbus when you turn either away from it or even in front of it).

[airjay75]

As I understand it, you had a green light and the pedestrian essentially had a red light. That is not a situation where you need to yield to the pedestrian as a matter of traffic/criminal law. Personally, I might have slowed down in case I needed to come to a complete stop, but I would not have voluntarily stopped and let the pedestrian cross.

Now, as a matter of civil law and liability for injuries, you don't want to take that as a right to "plow down" the pedestrian. Those sorts of questions can become very complicated and, if you did hit and injure or kill the pedestrian who was illegally crossing, you might as well count on a lawsuit being filed. Other questions like speed, general driving conditions, what a "reasonably prudent person" under similar conditions would have done, etc. would all come into play. It is for reasons like this that one should exercise extreme caution when dealing with pedestrians, even if they don't technically have the right of way. I would much rather risk the person behind me rear ending me than risk hitting a pedestrian - in the first situation, the liability is clear, in the second, it is not.

[HokieFan]

You had the right of way, and the pedestrian was crossing illegally. I would not stop at a green light to allow a pedestrian to cross in front of me. However, I would avoid hitting him/her if they were already in the crosswalk. If you were to hit a pedestrian in this situation, you may escape criminal charges but there is a risk of civil charges (and of course the emotional and psychological baggage of running over a human being).

When a pedestrian is in a crosswalk that is not at a stop light, you are required to stop for them.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by HokieFan

You had the right of way, and the pedestrian was crossing illegally. I would not stop at a green light to allow a pedestrian to cross in front of me. However, I would avoid hitting him/her if they were already in the crosswalk. If you were to hit a pedestrian in this situation, you may escape criminal charges but there is a risk of civil charges.

When a pedestrian is in a crosswalk that is not at a stop light, you are required to stop for them.

Bingo, this answer is correct.

When people jaywalk, or bike riders don't follow road rules, it hurts those of us who are trying to promote alternative facilities to driving only infrastructure. That's why I like the organization Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling because they don't just go out and ask for bike lanes, they hold meetings/ public information documents about what the correct rules are for bicyclists.

That being said, there are a lot (way way way way more) instances of course of vehicles breaking the law so there is some hypocrisy that chronic traffic law violators never seem to be held accountable.

As they say though, two wrongs don't make a right, and in this case you did the right thing in my opinion, slowing to a point where you could avoid if you had to, but not creating a dangerous driving situation by slamming on your brakes.

More importantly, you started a dialogue about it so that you could find out for next time what is the right thing to do, and hopefully help educate others also.

[Yankeesfan]

Decades ago, my driver ed teachers impressed upon us: "The pedestrian always has the right of way." Meaning, do everything in your power to avoid hitting the pedestrian, whether they're supposed to be there or not. (I sympathize with your frustration! Last year I nearly hit a runner, dressed entirely in dark clothing, who came out of a wooded path and without even looking ran across the street in front of me as I was turning right, at around 5:00 am in winter when it was completely dark out.)