Spring Break
Pa. traffic guidelines need clarity
Anthony Cesarini
Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: Ed-Op
Last week, I was crossing the street at the intersection of 33rd and Market streets when I overheard a prospective student's parent say something that got me thinking.
"In any other city, the cars would stop when there are people in the crosswalk."
This is a thought I've also had (more than once), and since I almost got hit by a car while crossing at Market and JFK streets for at least the fifth time today, I thought I'd bring to light a Philadelphian, and more specifically, Pennsylvanian problem.
This parent wasn't stretching the truth. A few years ago, I was walking around Portland, Ore., and on more than one occasion, I had to cross a street. The first time I did so, I walked a few steps into the crosswalk as a car was beginning to turn from the opposite direction onto the street I was crossing. When the driver saw me, she slammed on her car's brakes and waiting until my friends and I crossed the street, even though she could have easily turned quickly without hitting us.
Coming from Philadelphia, I was slightly confused. Why had she stopped and waited for us to cross? One of my non-Philadelphian friends told me that this behavior was normal in most cities.
So, why can't it be this way in Philadelphia? Are the laws not clear about who has the right-of-way at intersections? Or, do drivers cut in front of pedestrians because they know they're going to get away with it?
It seems to be a little of both. For example, in Hawaii, drivers are required to come to a full and complete stop before driving across a crosswalk that contains pedestrians. In New Jersey, the law states that drivers must yield to pedestrians in a marked crosswalk. However, chapter 35 of the Pennsylvania Driver and Pedestrian Law doesn't give a clear guideline for situations in which a pedestrian is trying to cross a controlled intersection.
The most relevant statement I could find on this issue was Section 3542, which states, "When traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection."
"In any other city, the cars would stop when there are people in the crosswalk."
This is a thought I've also had (more than once), and since I almost got hit by a car while crossing at Market and JFK streets for at least the fifth time today, I thought I'd bring to light a Philadelphian, and more specifically, Pennsylvanian problem.
This parent wasn't stretching the truth. A few years ago, I was walking around Portland, Ore., and on more than one occasion, I had to cross a street. The first time I did so, I walked a few steps into the crosswalk as a car was beginning to turn from the opposite direction onto the street I was crossing. When the driver saw me, she slammed on her car's brakes and waiting until my friends and I crossed the street, even though she could have easily turned quickly without hitting us.
Coming from Philadelphia, I was slightly confused. Why had she stopped and waited for us to cross? One of my non-Philadelphian friends told me that this behavior was normal in most cities.
So, why can't it be this way in Philadelphia? Are the laws not clear about who has the right-of-way at intersections? Or, do drivers cut in front of pedestrians because they know they're going to get away with it?
It seems to be a little of both. For example, in Hawaii, drivers are required to come to a full and complete stop before driving across a crosswalk that contains pedestrians. In New Jersey, the law states that drivers must yield to pedestrians in a marked crosswalk. However, chapter 35 of the Pennsylvania Driver and Pedestrian Law doesn't give a clear guideline for situations in which a pedestrian is trying to cross a controlled intersection.
The most relevant statement I could find on this issue was Section 3542, which states, "When traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection."
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