“When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be so to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk … if the pedestrian is on that half of the traveled part of the way on which the vehicle is traveling or if the pedestrian approaches from the opposite half of the travel part of the way to within 10 feet of that half of the traveled part of the way on which said vehicle is traveling…No driver of a vehicle shall pass any other vehicle which has stopped in a marked crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross, nor shall any such operator enter a marked crosswalk while a pedestrian is crossing or until there is sufficient space beyond the crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle he is operating, notwithstanding the traffic control signal may indicate that vehicles may proceed.” Let's Dissect This Law Piece by Piece. Under Massachusetts law, a pedestrian who is crossing in a crosswalk, or at an intersection with either the walk signal or green light, has the right-of-way. It’s a fact of life, but what does the law say? We have all witnessed situations where pedestrians are crossing the street outside of a crosswalk or against a no walk signal. The public often misunderstands the right-of-way principles and automatically assumes that the pedestrian always has the right-of-way and this misunderstanding has led to many injuries and death, almost all of them suffered by the pedestrian. Pedestrians however must yield that right-of-way to drivers under certain circumstances. If walking at night, pedestrians should refrain from wearing dark clothes, so drivers can easily see them.” Who Has the Right-of-Way Generally?Īs a general rule (and I stress general) pedestrians have the right-of-way. At the same time, pedestrians can reduce risks by utilizing crosswalks as much possible and refrain from walking on the shoulder of roads during non-daylight hours or darting out across the road at night when visibility is poorer for drivers. Lack of sidewalks or crosswalks, traffic lights, and poor lighting can be factors in pedestrian injuries and fatalities involving motor vehicles. Nearly 40% of all pedestrian fatalities from 2014-2018 took place over these three months.Ī variety of risk factors exist for pedestrians. In terms of time of year, the period from October through December consistently sees the highest fatalities. From 2014-2018, 60% of pedestrian deaths took place during this time frame. Research has found that motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrian fatalities occur more often between the hours of 3pm and midnight. “In 2018, there were 78 reported pedestrian fatalities across Massachusetts. Males accounted for 59% of pedestrian fatalities, while pedestrians age 55 or older represented more than half the fatalities reported in 2018. Hopefully, someone will read this blog, think twice before crossing a street and keep themselves safe as a result. In each case, a life was either taken or seriously altered as a result of another car meets pedestrian collision. My caseload this year has included a middle-aged man killed as he crossed a street, a corporate executive mother of 3 who suffered a horrific brain injury while walking back to her car, and a graduate student who had his right knee seriously injured as he made his way to campus. I've seen too many sad cases involving pedestrians in the last 12 months that I felt compelled to try to explain the laws in Massachusetts that relate to safe street crossings.
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