Crosswalks in Bethesda Pedestrian Accidents

Crosswalks are naturally a very common place for pedestrians to cross a street, and so they are unfortunately a very common site for pedestrian accidents. Where the liability is placed in these cases is dependent on the specific nature of the crosswalk, and of course on the actions of the parties involved. Consult with a Bethesda pedestrian accident attorney if you have been the victim of a pedestrian accident at a crosswalk.

Marked and Unmarked Crosswalks

There is a distinct difference between marked crosswalks and unmarked crosswalks as to the relative responsibilities of the pedestrian and the driver. For marked crosswalks, vehicle drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians in the crosswalk as long as the pedestrian is proceeding lawfully in the crosswalk and if there is a walk signal. For unmarked crosswalks, pedestrians must yield the right of way to the vehicle. Crosswalks both marked and unmarked are common in Bethesda. They are prevalent at intersections throughout the county.

Many people know that marked crosswalks protect the pedestrian in terms of vehicles having to yield the right of way to them. However, common sense is important from the pedestrian’s standpoint because it’s a vehicle, so the pedestrian needs to cautious and careful, look both ways, and make sure vehicles are stopping because the crosswalk is not going to protect the pedestrian from a car that is not following the law and ends up colliding with the pedestrian.

Unfortunately, fewer people know that unmarked crosswalks require them—meaning the pedestrian—to yield the right of way to vehicles. That is a very important distinction and a very important responsibility for the pedestrian to realize, because if there is a collision and it is in an unmarked crosswalk, then that pedestrian may very well be found responsible for not having yielded the right of way to the vehicle.

An unmarked crosswalk is where there is an intersection of some variety—either controlled or not controlled by a traffic controlled device where pedestrians are crossing—but there are no lines on the pavement to show that it’s a designated, marked crosswalk by the State Highway Administration. These are not designated crosswalks. Marked crosswalks put the burden on the driver to yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully crossing the crosswalk, whereas unmarked crosswalks do not.

Causes of Pedestrian Accidents at Crosswalks

If the pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk and following the walk signal, then a driver turning right on red must yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing in the crosswalk. If the pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk and following the walk signal, a vehicle turning left through the intersection must yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing in the crosswalk.

If a pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk and following the walk signal, a vehicle proceeding into the intersection from a red light turning green must yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing in the crosswalk. If those things do not happen and the pedestrian is in the crosswalk at the time that the vehicle, for whatever reason, is not abiding by the traffic laws and yielding the right of way to the pedestrian and there’s a collision, then the vehicle will be deemed at fault. However, that is not without some responsibility on the part of the pedestrian to act reasonably as well.

Impact of Crosswalks on Pedestrian Accident Cases

A violation of a statute, which mandates that the vehicle operator must yield to the pedestrian, can result in negligence certainly, but also something that is called negligence per se, which means the conduct is negligent because it violates a statute. Given the relative responsibilities of the vehicle driver versus a pedestrian, given the responsibility of the vehicle driver in the scenario of a marked crosswalk, if there is a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian when the pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk, then the vehicle is going to be deemed responsible and that is then deemed negligence per se because the vehicle driver has violated the statute.