FABB Blog

Certainly a wishful driver may prefer that motorized vehicles had precedence over an individual wanting to cross at an crosswalk without a signal, but such a driver is being a bully and using sheet metal to intimidate, and probably acts knowing that there are few tickets handed out to those who ignore crosswalks, and perhaps knowing that a pedestrian has limited legal recourse if that pedestrian hazards himself by being hit at all.

Pedestrians gave up some rights to use the road, so drivers could go faster between crosswalks and intersections. In exchange for letting drivers go faster, pedestrians received priority at crosswalks. There was a massive social/legal shift in driving rules of the road in the 1920's and 1930's as speeding cars killed thousands of pedestrians, mostly children. Peter Norton's book Fighting Traffic has an interesting review of the many changes in how Americans came to view the streets.

A driver sees STOP signs on side roads and reasonably expects cars there are going to remain stopped and not enter the intersection ahead of the driver on the priority road. But wait, you are in a car approaching a trail and there’s a crosswalk painted on the roadway and a stop sign facing the trail users. Who has right of way? If you are not quite sure, you are far from alone.

One VDOT survey reported vast uncertainty on who has right of way at WO&D style crossings. Of those responding in a survey, 63 percent thought motor vehicles have the right-of-way; 28 percent thought trail users; and 8 percent did not know.” (pg 61 of Best Practices in Traffic Operations and Safety: Phase II: Zig-zag Pavement Markings) Those numbers are almost unbelievable, but in light of Northern Virginia crosswalk experiences, those numbers may reflect the chasm of misunderstanding and lack of law enforcement support.

Who has right of way? Generally the pedestrian/bicycle rider has right-of-way at crosswalks, but the law also imposes a major responsibility on the crosswalk user not to hazard himself by entering in front of traffic too close to stop. Since Virginia is a contributory negligence state, if a pedestrian is hit, she may have real problems collecting civil damages in proving that she followed that part of the law. To repeat, a pedestrian in the hospital with severe injuries MAY have to pay for all her own medical expenses if she is hit, and the driver may have to pay for a new fender.

In one Fairfax County crash (Russ v. Destival) referred to the Virginia Supreme Court in 2004, the jury essentially decided in favor of a driver who did not see a bicyclist in a sidepath along Braddock Road and eased his car out into the crosswalk, hitting and injuring the bicyclist who was proceeding through the crosswalk without having fully ascertained the driver had actually yielded the right of way to him. The jury determined the bicyclist acted with some degree of negligence in his crossing at the unsignalized crosswalk. As the court described it, “The right to proceed is to be tested by whether a person of ordinary prudence would attempt it.” Peers on the jury are car drivers.

Virginia Code §46.2-924 specifically uses the phrase “at a crosswalk,” in other words the area where the pedestrian is waiting to cross, and not just the striped portion in the roadway.

Traffic lights or police direction indicate right-of-way at many intersections. If there is no signal, Virginia Code §46.2-924 instructs “the driver of any vehicle on a highway shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian crossing such highway:
1. At any clearly marked crosswalk, whether at mid-block or at the end of any block;
2. At any regular pedestrian crossing included in the prolongation of the lateral boundary lines of the adjacent sidewalk at the end of a block;
3. At any intersection when the driver is approaching on a highway or street where the legal maximum speed does not exceed 35 miles per hour.”

A bicycle rider at a crosswalk can walk his bicycle across OR he can ride it across. In  Virginia Code §46.2-904 “A person riding a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, motorized skateboard or scooter, motor-driven cycle, or an electric power-assisted bicycle on a sidewalk, shared-use path, or across a roadway on a crosswalk, shall have all the rights and duties of a pedestrian under the same circumstances.” So to recap: bicyclists are treated as pedestrians when on a trail.

At a crosswalk Virginia courts have held “the pedestrian has a superior right — that is, the right to cross from one side of the street to the other in preference or priority over vehicles — and drivers of vehicles must respect this right and yield the right of way to the pedestrian. The pedestrian’s right of way extends from one side of the street to the other. It does not begin at any particular point in the intersection nor does it end at any particular point. It begins on one side of the street and extends until the pedestrian has negotiated the crossing.” (Marshall v. Shaw. Supreme Court of Virginia, 1955)

“The duty of a motor vehicle driver on approaching an intersection is to keep a vigilant lookout for pedestrians between curbs on the traveled portion of the highway, and when pedestrians are negotiating the crossing, or about to step from the side into traffic lanes, to operate his car at such speed and under such control that he can readily turn one way or the other, and, if necessary, bring his machine to a stop in time to avoid injury to pedestrians.” (Sawyer v. Blankenship, Supreme Court of Virginia, 1933)

“At intersecting streets where there are neither traffic lights nor traffic officers, the pedestrian has a superior right — that is, the right to cross from one side of the street to the other in preference or priority over vehicles — and drivers of vehicles must respect this right and yield the right of way to the pedestrian. The pedestrian’s right of way extends from one side of the street to the other. It does not begin at any particular point in the intersection nor does it end at any particular point. It begins on one side of the street and extends until the pedestrian has negotiated the crossing.” (Lucas v. Craft, Virginia Supreme Court, 1933)

Social norms prevent someone pushing their shopping cart in front of a frail older lady in a grocery checkout line, in full knowledge that if she fell she would possibly break bones. Current driving social norms do seem to permit a driver to bully that same pedestrian at a crosswalk. Calling motorists bullies is nothing new. Questions of who had right of way and right to use the streets and highways were only a little easier when everything moved at a walking pace. The next quotation is now only of historical interest, before pedestrians were pushed from the streets in exchange for priority at regularized crossings like crosswalks, but a 1919 Virginia Supreme Court ruling held:

“The pedestrian and the automobile have equal rights upon the highway, but their capacity for inflicting injury is vastly disproportioned. It follows also from this that the driver of an automobile cannot be said to be using the highway within his rights, or to be in the exercise of due care, if he takes advantage of the force, weight, and power of his machine as a means of compelling pedestrians to yield to his machine superior rights upon the public highway designed for the use of all members of the public upon equal terms. . . . If there is anything in the argument of priority, man was created before the automobile, and, to paraphrase a quotation from Holy Writ, man was not created for the automobile, but the automobile was created for man.” (Core v. Wilhelm, Supreme Court of Virginia, 1919)

To recap, certainly a wishful driver may prefer that motorized vehicles had precedence over an individual wanting to cross at an crosswalk without a signal, but such a driver is being a bully and using sheet metal to intimidate, and probably acts knowing that there are few tickets handed out to those who ignore crosswalks.

NVRPA just received a copy of the final report that will be posted on their website next week. Below are my notes from the meeting.

• Improve design at intersections so that the trail is more prominent as it crosses the street.
• Make vehicle crossings (for drivers on the road) more visible through tactics such as “stop ahead” painted on the pavement, rumble strips before intersections, zig-zag marks before intersections, raised crosswalks, and increasing the width of crosswalk markings.
• Install Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) at problem intersections. An RRFB is comprised of two lights that alternate rapid flashing when trail users press a button. 
• Use asphalt treatments such as a colored transition in areas where trail users should slow down or exercise caution (for example in congested areas or near a school).
• Improve the surrounding bike infrastructure so that the W&OD trail is not the only option for bike commuters.

• Speed zones/slow zones with color asphalt treatments
• Signal timing adjustments.
• Social marketing 
• Separate travel lanes for peds/bikes
• Visual improvements at trail crossings for drivers and trail users
• Education 
• Develop an NVRPA regulation regarding use of STOP signs in coordination with local governments and others

WHERE: Registration, ride start and finish, closing ceremony, and raffle drawing are all at the Reston Town Center on Democracy Street between Library and Explorer in front of The Bike Lane (bike shop) in Reston, VA. Download a pdf map of the Reston Town Center for location and parking garages. Following Paul’s Ride, riders may enjoy participating in the Great Grapes Wine and Food Festival beginning at Noon. Both Paul’s Ride and the Reston Wine Festival are rain or shine events.

ROUTE: Start at Reston Town Center on Democracy Street. All rides are out and back heading west along the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail. The route is paved asphalt. The ride includes 10, 20, and 1/2 Century +2 mile options. Volunteers will be at several rest stops along the way to cheer you on and nourish you with goodies. We’ve even heard a rumor that cookies might be at every rest stop this year!

BOARD MATTER

Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins

Hunter Mill District

 February 25, 2014

Sidewalk Snow Removal