ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions and shares tips about the rules of the road, helping Central Florida residents become better drivers by being better educated.
News 6 viewer Ron asked, “When it comes to stopping for pedestrians, do they need to be out of the crosswalk completely before you can go?”
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“This is a great question because there is a law that covers this in detail and, believe it or not, goes about it in a pretty common sense way,” Trooper Steve said. “We all know that being a pedestrian here in Central Florida can be pretty dangerous, but if we all choose to work together, we can easily eliminate that. Drivers, I’m talking about you.”
In today’s world, there’s so much going on that driving does not get the attention that it deserves.
“In the next few weeks, our students will be returning to the classroom and pedestrian traffic in our communities is going to grow,” Trooper Steve said. “So how do we answer Ron’s question?”
Any time a driver is approaching a crosswalk, he or she should be aware of the surroundings.
“Any time a pedestrian enters a crosswalk, as long as there are no other traffic control devices telling them not to, they have the right of way,” Trooper Steve said. “Drivers do not need to wait until the pedestrian completely leaves the crosswalk to move on, though.”
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Here’s what you need to know.
“As you’re traveling, let’s say north on roadway A, you begin to approach a crosswalk. To your right ahead, you see a pedestrian begin to enter the crosswalk. As this pedestrian is entering the roadway in your travel lanes, you would have to yield to them. Now, let’s say that’s happening to the left side of the travel lanes. You would not need to yield to that pedestrian immediately. As that pedestrian crossed the oncoming lanes, you would need to pay attention but would not have to stop your travels until that pedestrian reached the halfway point. This eliminates traffic from stopping too quickly or building up for something that may not enter your travel lanes for a few more seconds,” he said.
Here is the Florida statue that goes into detail about this topic.