Pedestrians in cross walks downtown Sebastopol...

we automobile drivers know that we are supposed to stop (+ yield) to pedestrians in cross walks and remain stopped until they have completed crossing.

however, i believe it is also required of the commencing pedestrian to wait until it is safe: in other words to not just keep walking without stopping to look and see if it is safe to cross.

today a single person just about jumped into the street in front of me, had to jam on the brakes and was stuck in the middle of the intersection, blocking a side street (near Martha's Restaurant, across from Rite Aid).

my personal practice when crossing the street is to look around myself all the time (360 degrees) as I've almost been run over by huge trucks, etc. !!

I see people crossing and they don't seem to look at the vehicles coming at them at all.

Here's what the CA Vehicle Code actually says:

V C Section 21950 Right of Way at Crosswalks

Right-of-Way at Crosswalks

21950. (a) The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

(b) This section does not relieve a pedestrian from the duty of using due care for his or her safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. No pedestrian may unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk.

(c) The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian.

(d) Subdivision (b) does not relieve a driver of a vehicle from the duty of exercising due care for the safety of any pedestrian within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
________________________________________________________

Note that it doesn't say anything about remaining stopped until a pedestrian has finished crossing. Note also a pedestrian's "duty" in (b). Paragraph (d) says (in effect) you can't run someone down just because they behaved unlawfully and walked or jumped out in front of your car without looking.

Quote:

---

Posted in reply to the post by 2Bwacco:

we automobile drivers know that we are supposed to stop (+ yield) to pedestrians in cross walks and remain stopped until they have completed crossing.

however, i believe it is also required of the commencing pedestrian to wait until it is safe: in other words to not just keep walking without stopping to look and see if it is safe to cross.

today a single person just about jumped into the street in front of me, had to jam on the brakes and was stuck in the middle of the intersection, blocking a side street (near Martha's Restaurant, across from Rite Aid).

my personal practice when crossing the street is to look around myself all the time (360 degrees) as I've almost been run over by huge trucks, etc. !!

I see people crossing and they don't seem to look at the vehicles coming at them at all.

---

thanks for your diligent research of vehicle code.

i've been driving since 1968 ... somewhere along the line i've learned, been taught, that the driver (me) is supposed to stop and remain stopped until the ped. is out of the cross walk and onto the curb (actually all cars are supposed to remain stopped -- like the regs. regarding school buses stopping - cars in both directions).

one of my other pet peeves is when drivers come up to an intersection or stop sign and drive over the limit line to the intersection or the cross walk. technically if their front tire is over that line they are "in the intersection" and probably can be cited by a stickler law enforcement type person such as Seb. Police. This happens a lot at the signal by O'Reilly & Assoc.

yesterday saw a small toyota-type car labeled Sebastopol Police Services, grey like the larger cruisers, but no lights on top... volunteer? probably just trying to save on gasssss

Quote:

---

Posted in reply to the post by 2Bwacco:

... somewhere along the line i've learned, been taught, that the driver (me) is supposed to stop and remain stopped until the ped. is out of the cross walk and onto the curb

---

the exact wording of the vehicle code is useful, but only to a point. There are several rules-of-thumb that officers use when deciding whether or not to cite you, and I know of occasions where the judge has issued a ruling that seemed to disregard the letter of the code. Probably that opened the case up for an appeal, but that's never going to happen... it'd be interesting to hear an actual LEO from this area offer an opinion.

The Sebastopol Police Prius is used by the parking enforcement officer. Yes, it does save gas.