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8:03 AM
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A: How should a pedestrian walk across a busy road in the USA?

The PhotonYou need to watch the pedestrian crossing light: You should only cross when it indicates "walk", which in this case will be indicated by an image of a walking person. Very old systems might use the words "DON'T WALK" and "WALK" instead of the hand and walker icons. Depending on the design of th...

 
Tim
Tim
Thanks. I just realized this. Before crossing from east to west, how would you cross to the north side of the fork? That was another reason why I chose to cross in front of north-bound traffic. Besides, there is no waiting area and sidewalk for pedestrians on the east side.
 
The Photon
The Photon
@Tim, there is a pedestrian signal to allow you to cross the "fork" from south to north.
@Tim: here
 
Tim
Tim
Thanks. "Was it a bad decision to walk back? What should I have done when being stuck in front of the middle lane?"
 
The Photon
The Photon
@Tim, at that point there's no rule. Make eye contact with the drivers whose path you're going to cross, make sure you can tell they're going to stop for you, then cross in front of them as quickly as you safely can.
 
Nate Eldredge
Nate Eldredge
@ThePhoton: There is a rule - a pedestrian in a crosswalk (marked or unmarked) has the right of way - but that is not to say you should bet your life on having drivers obey it.
 
The Photon
The Photon
8:03 AM
@NateEldredge, I'm not clear on whether OP was actually in a crosswalk or not. Even if they weren't, drivers are obligated not to run them over. But still, you need to be careful and make sure the drivers know where you're going to give them a chance to not hit you.
 
user253751
user253751
@ThePhoton Drivers are obligated not to run people over, but I hear this country has a lot of angry drivers who might just do it anyway.
 
The Photon
The Photon
@user253751, the threat of having to do a lot of paperwork and answer a lot of questions from the police and your insurance company keeps most people from acting on that urge.
 
user253751
user253751
@ThePhoton Depends whether they get caught
 
The Photon
The Photon
@user253751, If you leave the scene of an injury accident you're in for criminal charges for hit and run, not just a slow day of being questioned by police. And it only takes one person writing down your license number for you to get caught.
 
WGroleau
WGroleau
"The threat" does not depend on whether they get caught. The threat is the knowledge that more get caught than not.
 
Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton
8:03 AM
This is an odd intersection, as there are no marked crosswalks on the roadway, and the pedestrian signals are a bit difficult to see from certain angles. It's entirely possible to not know they exist until after you've tried to cross the street! This intersection desperately needs crosswalk markings for the points where pedestrians are expected to cross.
 
The Photon
The Photon
@MichaelHampton this kind of thing isn't too uncommon where the intersection was designed when the area was rural or undeveloped, but later the area was built up (and traffic increased).
 
camelccc
camelccc
Technically in the state of New Jersey (like many states) you are most certainly not allowed to cross anywhere other than a cross walk, or when the sign tells you not to. Tickets for this can be expensive if a police officer sees you
 
Tim
Tim
@camelccc where is the sign telling not to? Where is a crosswalk?
 
user4556274
user4556274
@tim: "how would you cross to the north side of the fork?" While you could cross the jughandle at the s-n pedestrian signal that the Photon pointed out, it would be equally common (if traffic were heavy) to stay on the right-hand side of the jughandle to get to the implicit crosswalk on the north side of the intersection, avoiding crossing the jughandle traffic twice.
 
Tim
Tim
@user4556274 How would you "stay on the right-hand side of the jughandle to get to the implicit crosswalk"? Like this and this and this?
 
camelccc
camelccc
8:03 AM
@Tim no sign required. It's NJ state law has Jaywalking. unless there is a crosswalk, you can't cross, and may be ticketed, will be (partly) responsible for any accidents. You have a clear path with signs going the other way, so as far as the law is concerned, you can't.
 
gerrit
gerrit
@camelccc I can't cross any road unless there is a crosswalk? I know I can't cross the freeway, but any road?
 
Tim
Tim
@gerrit that’s what Jaywalking means, yes.
 
 
10 hours later…
Martin Ba
Martin Ba
6:22 PM
Jaywalking
Jaywalking occurs when a pedestrian walks in or crosses a roadway that has traffic, other than at a suitable crossing point, or otherwise in disregard of traffic rules. The term originated with "jay-drivers", people who drove horse-drawn carriages and automobiles on the wrong side of the road, before taking its current meaning.Jaywalking laws vary widely by jurisdiction. In many countries such as the United Kingdom, the word is not generally used and there are no laws limiting how pedestrians can use public highways. This has caused confusion among tourists and other people visiting countries with...
 
user3067860
user3067860
6:49 PM
@gerrit You can cross the road. In New Jersey, at least. "pedestrians shall cross the roadway within a crosswalk or, in the absence of a crosswalk, and where not otherwise prohibited, at right angles to the roadway." Crossing divided roads is specifically prohibited in a different sentence, but if it's a normal non-divided road with nothing special going in, then you should be able to cross (at right angles).
 
 
2 hours later…
Harper - Reinstate Monica
Harper - Reinstate Monica
8:22 PM
@camelccc that's incorrect, NJ treats ordinary jaywalking quite leniently and only says "when jaywalking, yield to traffic". The absence of a divider meant the crossing was legal as a jaywalk. However also and separately, it is an intersection and that does define an implicit crosswalk. Heck they even put a pedestrian safety zone there.
 
Backgammon
Backgammon
8:58 PM
OP mentioned paying attention to the lights at some point; don't know about y'all, but I frequently encounter complex intersections (e.g. extended greens in one direction; nonstandard left-turn setups; channelized right turn lanes which aren't restricted by the intersection's signal) where it's impossible to determine when it's safe to walk by observing just traffic lights from one location.
If there's no pedestrian signal and the road is busy it may in practice never be safe to cross, even if there are technically unmarked crosswalks.
 

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