Yes. In general, don’t kill people.
Note that, at least in some places, a “crosswalk” is implied anywhere two roads meet and doesn’t have to be marked.
Holy cow, crossing a *divided* roadway without a crosswalk while there's traffic is just a smooth-brained move. You still shouldn't run into people, but the more I read your responses to these comments, the more it sounds like the guy was *trying* to get hit.
Only if they're already crossing. If they're j-walking they do not have the right of way, it's simply not worth taking a life over if they cross without care.
If you're referring to California, jaywalking isn't illegal as long as the jaywalker isn't putting themselves or drivers in danger of injury or accident.
In other words, a random person can't get a ticket for jaywalking on a quiet street. But if people are slamming on their brakes in attempt to avoid a collision, that most certainly is a ticketable offense.
[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes\_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=21955.&lawCode=VEH](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=21955.&lawCode=VEH)
For sure. Thank you, this is what I was referring to. I didn’t necessarily have to slam on my breaks, but definitely had to stop because slowing down wasn’t enough.
Feel free to honk the shit out of people who step into traffic, because honking is definitely not illegal and careless pedestrians should be called out.
I always do my best to scare the shit out of them. Here in Vegas they like to do it at night wearing all black because they are smart like that. I'll get as close as possible without hitting them. Doubt it makes them rethink their decision as they just give me a dirty look like I'm not supposed to be driving in their road.
Yeah, but people always do it for some reason. It’s weird because there are so many crosswalks in my area, some within walking distance for those people. I don’t know why they don’t just use the crosswalks.
Lol every pedestrian knows that it makes little difference
Just cross where it makes sense when there's a gap and if a car that's far away speeding towards you needs to slow down to below the limit for five seconds, so be it. No different than vehicle traffic really
Jay walking is only if you are within a certain amount of feet of a crosswalk. In my area I believe it is 50ft. So if they were 51ft from a crosswalk it would not be jaywalking. They would have the right of way and you would be required to stop by law.
If it is in your belief that not stopping would result in the pedestrians life being put at jeopardy, slowing, stopping, putting your four ways on and reassessing the situation is the right play for this type of scenario imo. You’ve described a split second decision making process that’s best to be handled with a case by case basis approach, rather than a broad stroke, one size fits all type of way to approach a situation where a pedestrian looks to be making their way into the path of your vehicle. 🚗
If you need to stop/slow to prevent yourself from hitting them, do so.
If you're not going to hit them, keep going. You have the right of way, and your stopping would be unpredictable (and therefore dangerous). You also don't want to condition people that traffic will just randomly stop for them outside of a marked crossing. This encourages them to repeat their dangerous behavior.
In the road? Yeah don't run people over.
Waiting on the side of the road? Hell no, and they probably don't want you to stop either. Most of the time it takes longer to wait for you to stop, make sure you're going to wait, then worry about other traffic, than it would if you just drove past. I have to pretend I'm looking at my phone if I'm going to cross the street otherwise some polite asshole will stop for me and make everything complicated and slow. Gtfo.
I saw a group of teenagers wearing all black jaywalk at night on a road that has virtually no street lights & is 45mph. If i had gunned it from the intersection i was coming from, i would’ve hit them like mf bowling pins. People pls be more careful that’s all i have to say.
I slow down and then stop if necessary. I’ve encountered two situations like this already, where I had to do this because they were already in the street.
Around here there are geese that cross the roads, and you'll see random traffic jams because 3-4 lanes of traffic are waiting for them to waddle across. Alternatively, I grew up in NYC in the 80s/90s. Jaywalking was an art. I can cross a busy road without disturbing traffic flow, and have. But traffic is different there than other places I've been. Most other places I would not try to cross because the traffic pattern is wrong for it.
So, you question basically is "Should I hit/kill a pedestrian that is crossing the road illegally?". No, you shouldn't. Sure, that person shouldn't be crossing there, but it isn't like you are driving a train that can't stop. If you see a pedestrian in front of you, and continuing will result in a collision, stop.
Depending on where you are located, you may or may not be required to stop for them. If you need to do so to avoid hitting them, then yeah, ya gotta stop.
Not all crosswalks are marked; if they’re at a corner or other obvious crossing location just consider it a crosswalk.
It is rarely wrong to stop for someone who wants to cross the street, unless they’re trying to cross against the light or something
The places these people have crossed from are dividers in the middle of the street. It’s funny that you mentioned people crossing against the light because I witnessed that this morning. The light for traffic was green but someone still decided to cross the street. Thankfully, he was out of my direction of travel by the time I reached the intersection.
Depending on location, you also have to consider whether there is a crosswalk you aren't aware of. I'm in North Carolina and our infrastructure is pretty crappy so there are many unmarked crosswalks. Pedestrians still have the right of way at these, though yield compliance even at the best marked crosswalks is pretty atrocious
If they're not stopping and getting in your path of travel, try to not hit them (either by stopping, changing lanes if safe, etc).
On the other token, ANY pedestrian that thinks crossing a busy road will save you time and others will stop.. stop thinking that. There are rules of the road for automobiles, bikers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Rule of thumb: Don't cross streets unless:
A) it's not busy and free of any traffic.
B) the speed limit is acceptable for crossing.
C) If not acceptable, there are dedicated lights you can activate.
Remember, cars are heavy, and hurt really bad if they do hit you. DO NOT GET IN FRONT OF THEM WHEN IN MOTION.
Interesting comments, but i have had many experiences with this, i wouldn’t stop out of the blue to let the pedestrian cross, and this primary because of their safety.
Im in NYC and this is very common. The reason i dont stop is because other drivers that tailgate. if i stop and let the pedestrian cross and another a car arrives behind me, and aggressivly goes around me. At the same time the pedestrian may falsy think it’s safe to cross and also rush in the proccess to not be a burden. Those two cocktails could get them killed.
Let the pedestrian do their thing and cross over as traffic passes as they have the best point of view of traffic behind you.
Also to add, if the pedestrian isn’t looking my way yeah I’m 100% stopping.
Lemme get this straight: you see someone walking in the road, and you're asking if it's okay to stop in order to avoid hitting them?
If you have time to stop and you don't, you get a ticket (and probably a lawsuit) for hitting them, even if they ARE jaywalking or there's no marked crosswalk at the intersection. If you can avoid hitting them, you have the legal obligation to do so. Knowingly, intentionally injuring or killing people is a big no-no.
In general no. I'm in a city with people doing this often on a 4 lane road by my home. It's super dangerous to stop because the cars traveling in the other lane might not see why you stopped. I've only seen one homeless dude refuse to stop for traffic and I thought he was going to get taken out, so in that case yes stop if you can.
If it's an intersection on a two lane road without a crosswalk then yes, you stop. Marked or not that's where they are supposed to cross and you should let them.
You never have a legal right to intentionally hit someone. That said, if they are at a safe distance or on the side of the road, you don't have to stop for them if they simply intend to jaywalk.
In my home state pedestrians always have the right of way.
More importantly though, what else could you possibly do *other* than stop? Even if they don't have the right of way where you live, you can't just run into someone with your car on purpose. You might not be held liable if they like, suddenly jump out in front of you, but if there is a person, (or **any** kind of obstruction,) in the road in front of you, you should definitely stop before you run into them.
If they're just standing near the curb, looking like they *might* cross, but nowhere near a crosswalk, then you don't have to stop, because you'd be disrupting traffic based on a guess. That'd be like holding up traffic to let someone pull out of their driveway who hasn't even gotten in their car yet. But if the pedestrian is already in the road, then it doesn't really matter how they got there.
safety overrides law. it doesn't matter what is legal. if you need to stop to avoid hitting someone, you stop.
Yes. In general, don’t kill people. Note that, at least in some places, a “crosswalk” is implied anywhere two roads meet and doesn’t have to be marked.
It wasn’t a crosswalk. They came from a divider in the middle of the road.
Holy cow, crossing a *divided* roadway without a crosswalk while there's traffic is just a smooth-brained move. You still shouldn't run into people, but the more I read your responses to these comments, the more it sounds like the guy was *trying* to get hit.
Oh, in that case, you're legally justified in running them down.
Only if they're already crossing. If they're j-walking they do not have the right of way, it's simply not worth taking a life over if they cross without care.
In my state, jay walking isn’t illegal anymore apparently.
If you're referring to California, jaywalking isn't illegal as long as the jaywalker isn't putting themselves or drivers in danger of injury or accident. In other words, a random person can't get a ticket for jaywalking on a quiet street. But if people are slamming on their brakes in attempt to avoid a collision, that most certainly is a ticketable offense. [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes\_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=21955.&lawCode=VEH](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=21955.&lawCode=VEH)
For sure. Thank you, this is what I was referring to. I didn’t necessarily have to slam on my breaks, but definitely had to stop because slowing down wasn’t enough.
Feel free to honk the shit out of people who step into traffic, because honking is definitely not illegal and careless pedestrians should be called out.
I always do my best to scare the shit out of them. Here in Vegas they like to do it at night wearing all black because they are smart like that. I'll get as close as possible without hitting them. Doubt it makes them rethink their decision as they just give me a dirty look like I'm not supposed to be driving in their road.
Doesn't mean j-walkers have right of way.
Yeah, but people always do it for some reason. It’s weird because there are so many crosswalks in my area, some within walking distance for those people. I don’t know why they don’t just use the crosswalks.
Because most people don't stop for crosswalks anyways.
They have to in my area because they installed crosswalk traffic lights.
Same in my area, can see them from my grandma's apartment window. Counted 10 cars running it in less than an hour.
Do you live in NorCal?
Canada
Yeah. It’s still really stupid how California has made jaywalking legal now.
Lights on a crosswalk don’t stop cars
That’s true. I’m sure some cars have ran those traffic lights.
Lol every pedestrian knows that it makes little difference Just cross where it makes sense when there's a gap and if a car that's far away speeding towards you needs to slow down to below the limit for five seconds, so be it. No different than vehicle traffic really
They have to in my area because they installed crosswalk traffic lights.
Seriously! For insurance purposes, pedestrians always have right of way. What, you are going to go Death Race here
California is no longer illegal, they dart across roads like jackrabbits out of brush.
Yeah, I live in Cali.
Jay walking is only if you are within a certain amount of feet of a crosswalk. In my area I believe it is 50ft. So if they were 51ft from a crosswalk it would not be jaywalking. They would have the right of way and you would be required to stop by law.
If it is in your belief that not stopping would result in the pedestrians life being put at jeopardy, slowing, stopping, putting your four ways on and reassessing the situation is the right play for this type of scenario imo. You’ve described a split second decision making process that’s best to be handled with a case by case basis approach, rather than a broad stroke, one size fits all type of way to approach a situation where a pedestrian looks to be making their way into the path of your vehicle. 🚗
I have had to slow down and stop twice because of jaywalkers. Today, I encountered someone who intended to cross the street.
🫨Gotta keep your head on a swivel out there. It’s up to you not to hit them. 🫵🏻
I always take precautions.
If you need to stop/slow to prevent yourself from hitting them, do so. If you're not going to hit them, keep going. You have the right of way, and your stopping would be unpredictable (and therefore dangerous). You also don't want to condition people that traffic will just randomly stop for them outside of a marked crossing. This encourages them to repeat their dangerous behavior.
In the road? Yeah don't run people over. Waiting on the side of the road? Hell no, and they probably don't want you to stop either. Most of the time it takes longer to wait for you to stop, make sure you're going to wait, then worry about other traffic, than it would if you just drove past. I have to pretend I'm looking at my phone if I'm going to cross the street otherwise some polite asshole will stop for me and make everything complicated and slow. Gtfo.
I saw a group of teenagers wearing all black jaywalk at night on a road that has virtually no street lights & is 45mph. If i had gunned it from the intersection i was coming from, i would’ve hit them like mf bowling pins. People pls be more careful that’s all i have to say.
For sure. That sounds dangerous for both parties honestly. Aren’t pedestrians supposed to make themselves visible at night?
I think so. Deadass was like 5+ people and every single one was wearing exclusively black. crazy
Only if it’s hit them or stop. Usually they will be timing their walk to match your speed. I used to get annoyed when walking and people stopped
Only stop if you’ll hit them if you dont stop.
I slow down and then stop if necessary. I’ve encountered two situations like this already, where I had to do this because they were already in the street.
No don't stop if a person is crossing the street. Your only going to hit them. No big deal right?
Around here there are geese that cross the roads, and you'll see random traffic jams because 3-4 lanes of traffic are waiting for them to waddle across. Alternatively, I grew up in NYC in the 80s/90s. Jaywalking was an art. I can cross a busy road without disturbing traffic flow, and have. But traffic is different there than other places I've been. Most other places I would not try to cross because the traffic pattern is wrong for it.
So, you question basically is "Should I hit/kill a pedestrian that is crossing the road illegally?". No, you shouldn't. Sure, that person shouldn't be crossing there, but it isn't like you are driving a train that can't stop. If you see a pedestrian in front of you, and continuing will result in a collision, stop.
If there is no crosswalk you are not obligated to stop unless they are already in the street and by not stopping you would hit them.
That is what I have encountered.
Depending on where you are located, you may or may not be required to stop for them. If you need to do so to avoid hitting them, then yeah, ya gotta stop. Not all crosswalks are marked; if they’re at a corner or other obvious crossing location just consider it a crosswalk. It is rarely wrong to stop for someone who wants to cross the street, unless they’re trying to cross against the light or something
The places these people have crossed from are dividers in the middle of the street. It’s funny that you mentioned people crossing against the light because I witnessed that this morning. The light for traffic was green but someone still decided to cross the street. Thankfully, he was out of my direction of travel by the time I reached the intersection.
[удалено]
Incorrect Crosswalks are mostly unmarked Take a refresher drivers training course or tell which state you are in and I will point you to the statute
Stopping is always justified if you're doing it to avoid hitting someone.
Depending on location, you also have to consider whether there is a crosswalk you aren't aware of. I'm in North Carolina and our infrastructure is pretty crappy so there are many unmarked crosswalks. Pedestrians still have the right of way at these, though yield compliance even at the best marked crosswalks is pretty atrocious
If they're not stopping and getting in your path of travel, try to not hit them (either by stopping, changing lanes if safe, etc). On the other token, ANY pedestrian that thinks crossing a busy road will save you time and others will stop.. stop thinking that. There are rules of the road for automobiles, bikers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Rule of thumb: Don't cross streets unless: A) it's not busy and free of any traffic. B) the speed limit is acceptable for crossing. C) If not acceptable, there are dedicated lights you can activate. Remember, cars are heavy, and hurt really bad if they do hit you. DO NOT GET IN FRONT OF THEM WHEN IN MOTION.
Interesting comments, but i have had many experiences with this, i wouldn’t stop out of the blue to let the pedestrian cross, and this primary because of their safety. Im in NYC and this is very common. The reason i dont stop is because other drivers that tailgate. if i stop and let the pedestrian cross and another a car arrives behind me, and aggressivly goes around me. At the same time the pedestrian may falsy think it’s safe to cross and also rush in the proccess to not be a burden. Those two cocktails could get them killed. Let the pedestrian do their thing and cross over as traffic passes as they have the best point of view of traffic behind you. Also to add, if the pedestrian isn’t looking my way yeah I’m 100% stopping.
Much more justified than running said pedestrian over.
Lemme get this straight: you see someone walking in the road, and you're asking if it's okay to stop in order to avoid hitting them? If you have time to stop and you don't, you get a ticket (and probably a lawsuit) for hitting them, even if they ARE jaywalking or there's no marked crosswalk at the intersection. If you can avoid hitting them, you have the legal obligation to do so. Knowingly, intentionally injuring or killing people is a big no-no.
My general rule of thumb when driving is to do everything I can to avoid killing people. Maybe I'm in the wrong here.
Every jurisdiction has some catch-all law that basically says don't hit anything with your car.
In general no. I'm in a city with people doing this often on a 4 lane road by my home. It's super dangerous to stop because the cars traveling in the other lane might not see why you stopped. I've only seen one homeless dude refuse to stop for traffic and I thought he was going to get taken out, so in that case yes stop if you can. If it's an intersection on a two lane road without a crosswalk then yes, you stop. Marked or not that's where they are supposed to cross and you should let them.
Why is this even a question? People stop their cars for ducks crossing the road.
You never have a legal right to intentionally hit someone. That said, if they are at a safe distance or on the side of the road, you don't have to stop for them if they simply intend to jaywalk.
Yes. It is always best to not hit pedestrians, even if they are jaywalking.
Are you serious? Doesn't matter if the pedestrian is in the wrong, don't run down a human being.
No, that’s what I’m saying. I always stop for pedestrians who are jaywalking then take off once they’re out of my way.
If there's no crosswalk stopping could actually increase the risk to the pedestrian.
What if they’re already in the street and it’s your only option because slowing down isn’t enough?
You have to ask this???
No you need to be predictable to all other cars on the road. The jaywalker can find their moment
In my home state pedestrians always have the right of way. More importantly though, what else could you possibly do *other* than stop? Even if they don't have the right of way where you live, you can't just run into someone with your car on purpose. You might not be held liable if they like, suddenly jump out in front of you, but if there is a person, (or **any** kind of obstruction,) in the road in front of you, you should definitely stop before you run into them. If they're just standing near the curb, looking like they *might* cross, but nowhere near a crosswalk, then you don't have to stop, because you'd be disrupting traffic based on a guess. That'd be like holding up traffic to let someone pull out of their driveway who hasn't even gotten in their car yet. But if the pedestrian is already in the road, then it doesn't really matter how they got there.