This may sound like a stupid question, but here goes: If the crosswalk signal has the “Don’t Walk” icon flashing, but someone walks anyway, is it considered jaywalking? If I accidently hit someone in the crosswalk who should have been paying attention to the light instead of chatting on their cell phone or something or something similiar, am I at fault? I live in Georgia, and the crosswalks around the Medical College of GA seem to be teeming with those types in the mornings when I am commuting.
In my experience, when the “Don’t Walk” is flashing, it is roughly the same as a yellow traffic light. In theory, you’re not supposed to start across when it’s flashing, but if you’re already in the intersection then you can proceed to cross. I have seen people (and I’ve done it myself) go ahead and start, but put on a burst of extra speed to get across in time. I don’t think the police would ticket you as long as you don’t start across while the “Don’t Walk” is steady.
If the “don’t walk” is still flashing, then you had a red light at the time. IANAL, but I would very much suspect that a person who ran a red light and hit a pedestrian would be considered liable, regardless of how the pedestrian happened to be there. In fact, you’d probably be liable for something even if you weren’t running a red light. I hope that this question is purely hypothetical.
I don’t see how it couldn’t be your fault.
Pedestrians have the right of way in that situation no matter how clueless or pokey they really are or you perceive them to be.
Georgia Driver’s manual page 48:
In France pedestrians always have the right of way once they are on a pedestrian crossing, no matter what the traffic signals say.
I suspect that you are in the wrong if you see pedestrians anywhere on the road, and can slow down or stop to avoid hitting them, just as you should slow down or stop to avoid hitting other road users, regardless of whether they are doing something illegal. The only excuse for hitting pedestrians wouldf be if they appeared in front of you so suddenly (e.g., by ruinning onto the road from behind a truck) that you could not stop.
If you are at traffic lights, the lights go green, but there’s a car stopped (illegally) in the middle of the intersection, do you just push down the accelerator and hit the other car?
I believe that in most states, you’re liable if you hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk no matter what condition the lights are in.
The Federal Highway Administration’s 2003 “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices”, which is supposed to be followed in each state, but is not always, says,
“A flashing UPRAISED HAND (symbolizing DONT WALK) signal indication means that a pedestrian shall not start to cross the roadway in the direction of the signal indication, but that any pedestrian who has already started to cross on a steady WALKING PERSON (symbolizing WALK) signal indication shall proceed out of the traveled way.”
The whole Pedestrian Signal Control section can be read at