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A family member was recently ticketed for failing to yield to a pedestrian who was in a crosswalk. The car was making a right turn into the right lane of a multilane street, the pedestrian was crossing from the opposite curb and was less than halfway across the street when the turn was made. The pedestrian was walking slowly and was about 1.5 lanes (15′ – 20′) away from the closest point of the car as it turned.
A video camera was recording from a nearby building, and a video of the turn was shown to a traffic lawyer. To our surprise he told us that the driver was guilty. He said that no matter how far you are from a crossing pedestrian, if they’re in the crosswalk, you can’t go. Even if you’re making a right turn on Ocean Parkway and a pedestrian has just entered the crosswalk from across the street – literally six or seven lanes away – you can be ticketed for failure to yield.
The purpose of this post is twofold:
1) To find out is the traffic lawyer is correct. In most jurisdictions that I was able to look up online it seems that as long as the pedestrian is on the far side of the street, the turn may be made. Certainly, on multi-lane roads (e.g. Ocean Parkway, Coney Island Ave, etc) nobody waits for the crosswalk to be totally empty before turning, and turning would be practically impossible if all turning were to stop as soon as any pedestrian stepped off of the curb. Can anyone familiar with NYC traffic law let us know if the lawyer is correct?
2) If this is indeed the law, hopefully this post will make people who didn’t know it aware.Pedestrian safety is of paramount importance and vehicle drivers must drive responsibly. I’ve been hit by reckless drivers and so have several people I know. If someone is truly reckless and/or aggressive when turning or otherwise driving, they deserve a ticket. This post is to help those who drive safely and carefully avoid being snagged by a law they may not be aware of.
To determine whether the lawyer is correct you’ll need to lookup the relevant New York law. That shouldn’t be difficult.
Bh we have Red as a CR member, all ihis posts are PSA’s
The law in NY is fairly clear that pedestrians should not enter a crosswalk once the “don’t walk” red or yellow warning lights begin flashing. However, unless there is an intervening median strip, drivers should not seek to complete a right turn if the pedestrian has already entered the crosswalk.
Yes, this is the law. In some upstate counties there have been two-cop teams – one will be in the squad car down the road and the other stands by the edge of the sidewalk and takes a step the moment a car passes by. He radios ahead that the car failed to yield and the car is ticketed. You’re just a cash cow.
Queens with their extra wide streets is very dangerous.
My daughter who grew up in Monsey has recently started driving her car (under my name) into the city and the 5 Towns area once or twice a week for work. The NYC Department of Finance letters are now a daily occurrence. I try not to yell, rather I discuss it firmly with her, that none of these people, as well as mechanics and the like that have any dealings with her with regards to a car are her friend. They are there for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to make money. Innocent until proven guilty, does not apply here. You are guilty and pay up!
Very easy solution. Don’t violate the rules unless you are prepared to pay. While I’m sure some of the citations are for marginal violations, most are legit and they have photo or radar evidence to affirm.
“Don’t do the crime, don’t pay a dime”Forshayer: You’re referring to her getting speed camera tickets. That’s a different issue.
Sick and tired of stupid and aggressive policing? Video Tickets? Get the ____ out of that cespool known as NYC and go anywhere else where they don’t behave in this way. I did thankfully years ago. This sign should say welcome To Brooklyn – Now here come and take your camera summons. Flat out disgusting behavior to treat people this way. I am not against common sense policing but using you solely to maximize revenue is terrible.
Yochy: That is an interesting perspective. I have always been far more concerned about New York drivers than about New York driving regulations, and glad to return to areas where motorists have a measure of civility after visits to New York. By the way, the pedestrian crosswalk ordinance as described in this post is identical to all I’ve ever encountered in a dozen states across the country, except that some places are less lenient about intervening medians.
Did you consider a possibility that if everyone drives responsibly, we will see less terrible news of people dying and maimed in car accidents? I do not know enough to say this is so, just asking you to consider.
For example, you may think that you personally able to drive responsibly at 100 mph and did so for 60 years already, but the city in general benefits from it. Automatic cameras seems like a better solution that cops hiding in the bushes – more objective and predictable, and less expensive.
“In some upstate counties there have been two-cop teams – one will be in the squad car down the road and the other stands by the edge of the sidewalk and takes a step the moment a car passes by. He radios ahead that the car failed to yield and the car is ticketed. You’re just a cash cow.”
It should follow that you could deny the first cop’s accusation, and it’s your word vs. his, in which case logically you should win. When it’s your word’s against a cop’s the cop’s special status earns him credibility, but here the first cop is not testifying in an official capacity, but as a regular pedestrian.
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