Walk this way: Pedestrians play role in crosswalk safety

ROCHESTER - Crosswalk accidents in Rochester are not uncommon, but oftentimes what is common is the public perception that when these accidents happen the motorist is always to blame.

That is not the case, Rochester Police Department Capt. Gary Boudreau said this week, adding that when it comes to crosswalk safety both drivers and pedestrians have certain responsibilities to ensure no one gets hurt.

For example, two pedestrians were hit in separate crosswalk incidents within three days earlier this month in Rochester, with far different outcomes.

In the first, on Signal Street on Nov. 7, a Rochester woman was struck by a vehicle driven by a Rochester man around 8:40 p.m. The woman was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. The driver was cited.

Just two days later, however, on North Main Street a 44-year-old Farmington man was hit about 4:45 p.m. He also was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, but in this case, the Rochester man driving the car was not cited.

"The report shows it was a poorly lit area and the victim was wearing dark clothing," Boudreau said Tuesday. "Based upon the onscene investigation officers felt a warning was appropriate."

Boudreau said motorists and pedestrians have to equally bear responsibility to observe crosswalk laws.

Those state among other things, that pedestrians have a "duty to make sure they can cross safely," Boudreau said.

As far as motorists, Regulation 265:35 of the crosswalk laws state that a "driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger."

However, Boudreau stressed that pedestrians darting out into crosswalks without warning can also be cited by police, though he said that rarely happens.

Regarding pedestrian rules, the same ordinance states, "No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard."

Boudreau said pedestrians also have to recognize how long it would take for vehicles to stop, adding a subcompact car can stop far more quickly than a tractor trailer.

Safety advisories suggest that pedestrians move slowly out from the curb, try to make eye contact with the motorist and see that they acknowledge their presence while not moving out so far that they can't retreat to a place of safety if they don't.

Boudreau said it is also the responsibility of motorists to know when they are in the area of crosswalks and exercise extra care in those areas.