Pedestrians: Who Always Has the Right-of-Way

Most drivers know to stop for a pedestrian at a marked crosswalk — the painted white lines across the road. Fewer realize the same rule applies at an unmarked crosswalk: the invisible extension of the sidewalk across most intersections, even where no paint exists. Legally, a crosswalk exists at nearly every intersection whether or not it's painted.

When a pedestrian is in either kind of crosswalk, in your lane or close enough to be a hazard, you must stop and let them finish crossing. You may not wave them through and then inch forward, and you may not squeeze past behind them.

One group of pedestrians gets right-of-way everywhere they go, not only in a crosswalk: a person who is blind or visually impaired, identified by a white cane or a guide dog. The law treats this as absolute — if you see a white cane or a guide-dog harness anywhere near the roadway, you yield, regardless of where they are crossing or whether a signal favors you. The reasoning is direct: this pedestrian cannot see your vehicle, so the entire responsibility for avoiding a collision is yours.

Children are unpredictable by nature — they can dart into the street from between parked cars without looking, chasing a ball or a pet. Around schools, playgrounds, and residential streets, slow down and scan the sidewalks and yards, not just the road surface, well before you reach the area.

Elderly pedestrians may cross more slowly and need more time than a walk signal allows for. Never accelerate through a crosswalk because the countdown is running out — if someone is still in it when your light turns green, they still have the right-of-way to finish crossing.

Pedestrians aren't the only slow, unpredictable thing you'll share the road with. In rural areas — especially open-range country in parts of the West, where livestock are legally allowed to roam without fencing — cattle, horses, or other animals can be standing in or crossing a traffic lane. Treat any animal on or near the road the way you'd treat a slow pedestrian: slow down early, do not honk or rev your engine to scare it (a startled, panicked animal is far more dangerous than a calm one), and give it a wide, patient path.

You'll also encounter horseback riders sharing the road, usually along the shoulder. Pass them the way you would a bicyclist: slow down, give as much room as you safely can, and avoid sudden noise — a spooked horse can throw its rider into traffic.