# Who would be at fault here, driver or pedestrian? (Pedestrian hit by vehicle) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 12, 2024, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095 "2024-07-12T09:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/161 "2024-08-02T12:00:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You don’t pass a car that’s stopped at a crosswalk. Period. End of story. Video won’t play for me. But I agree with Alessan. Although as a ped, you should be a little bit more situationally aware. It’s your ass on the line. My cousin was once stopped a few cars back from a stoplight, NOT in a crosswalk. And a ped (on a phone of course) walked into the side of her car. The ped flipped her off. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/162 "2024-08-02T12:31:07Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > stoplight, NOT in a crosswalk This is a stoplight AND a crosswalk, just so you’re clear. I think it would be fun for all of you saying that you don’t pass a car at a crosswalk to try to drive in Brooklyn, where trucks and cars stop all the time, double and triple park, cars wait for passengers or “just run in for a second”, trucks stop for a while delivering stuff, etc. The light was green. Green means proceed. Yeah, watch out for pedestrians and cars ignoring the light, but I wouldn’t expect a pedestrian to come from their hiding place in front of a truck to run at speed in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/163 "2024-08-02T12:42:10Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Is there any discussion possible? > The driver is 100% at fault. (and an idiot and terrible driver) Sure there is, depending on the jurisdiction. For example, in the District of Columbia, both would share some percentage of the fault; I don’t recall what that is, though. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/164 "2024-08-02T14:36:35Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > This is a stoplight AND a crosswalk, just so you’re clear. Just so you’re clear, she was stopped a few cars back from the stop light. That does not make where she was a cross walk and the ped walked into the side of her car. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/165 "2024-08-02T14:38:42Z")
Yeah, it was weird that the pedestrian got annoyed at the car that was just sitting there. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/166 "2024-08-02T14:48:07Z")
Cousin lives on the edge of a college campus. Not ivy league, but expensive. I suspect the person felt entitled. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/167 "2024-08-02T14:49:52Z")
That is some sense of entitlement. You’re probably right. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/168 "2024-08-02T14:50:39Z")
Your existence has caused me embarrassment. So I’m angry at you. No more complex than that. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/169 "2024-08-02T15:56:36Z")
Albuquerque is a very western city in that the vast majority developed post-1945 and was built in a specific configuration. Main streets, generally two or three lanes each way, every half mile in a straight line (conforming as needed to geography), with turning lanes and pedestrian light controls at every intersection. With strip malls (and sometimes housing or apartment complexes) and other businesses on the roads and a maze of residential roads and housing in the grid section behind. There are very few marked crosswalks that are not at the half mile intersections and the city is converting those to HAWK signals. That’s the environment I learned to drive in, that’s the environment I learned to be a pedestrian in, and it was made very clear that if you got hit jaywalking or crossing against traffic there would be very little sympathy. In my opinion, the driver in this case might legally be at fault but it’s the pedestrian that was the cause. In my experience, lots of problems are caused by pedestrians and things like bicycles being unpredictable or breaking the law. Stepping out into traffic. Riding the wrong way up the sidewalk on a bicycle. Ignoring signals that apply to them. Crossing the middle of the street in dark clothes at night. Or in this case, assuming that one vehicle stopping for you on a multilane road while you cross against the signal means others will see you and stop in time. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/170 "2024-08-03T04:04:29Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > That sounds like the pedestrian was at fault. Maybe not 100% at fault, but at fault. I think we all agree that the pedestrian was at fault for ignoring the light. But that doesn’t mean the driver isn’t ALSO at fault. I believe the driver is at fault for failing to slow down when he knows another vehicle has stopped and he can’t see whether any pedestrians are in the road. You can’t just cruise through a dangerous intersection when you have the light if you can’t see potential hazards. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/171 "2024-08-03T05:19:41Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think it would be fun for all of you saying that you don’t pass a car at a crosswalk to try to drive in Brooklyn, where trucks and cars stop all the time, double and triple park, cars wait for passengers or “just run in for a second”, trucks stop for a while delivering stuff, etc. …you don’t pass a car at a crosswalk if your visibility is obstructed to the point _you can’t see if_ someone is on the crosswalk. That’s basic defensive driving. And the entire point of doing that is to avoid killing or injuring someone. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/172 "2024-08-03T05:25:31Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I believe the driver is at fault for failing to slow down when he knows another vehicle has stopped and he can’t see whether any pedestrians are in the road. You can’t just cruise through a dangerous intersection when you have the light if you can’t see potential hazards. I agree. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/173 "2024-08-03T13:01:18Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You can’t just cruise through a dangerous intersection when you have the light if you can’t see potential hazards Though again it’s _not_ an intersection it’s a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the block. That changes it from being somewhat the fault of the driver (for entering an intersection without slowing down, when a truck is obscuring half the intersection from view) to mainly the fault of the driver (for entering a pedestrian crossing without slowing down, when its patently obvious that the truck they are passing is likely stopped because a pedestrian is crossing). Seriously if you don’t realize that a vehicle stopped at pedestrian crossing on a green light is likely stopped because a pedestrian is in front of them you should not be allowed to drive. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/174 "2024-08-03T13:44:16Z")
On the other hand, the pedestrian should not be allowed to walk around if they are ignoring red walk signals. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/175 "2024-08-03T13:51:31Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > On the other hand, the pedestrian should not be allowed to walk around if they are ignoring red walk signals Actually yes they definitely should. We should have very strict controls on who is piloting tons of metal at deadly speeds. We should not be having arbitrary rules about who is placed on permanent house arrest unless they have been convicted of a serious crime ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/176 "2024-08-03T14:00:57Z")
I just don’t find the driver’s action unreasonable. Green light? I have the right to proceed. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/177 "2024-08-03T14:38:37Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Green light? I have the right to proceed Isn’t this something they drum into you at driver’s ed? Oh, wait! It’s exactly the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/178 "2024-08-03T15:00:34Z")
Joke’s on you; I never took driver’s ed. My mother taught me to drive. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/179 "2024-08-03T15:13:57Z")
Did she also teach you that you should get right up on the bumper of someone doing 65 in the left lane in a 55 zone? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095/180 "2024-08-03T15:14:48Z")
Learned that on my own. And that yellow lights mean punch it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-at-fault-here-driver-or-pedestrian-pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle/1004095.md?page=10)