4 ms·

You must yield to pedestrian in crosswalk, how far away the pedestrian is does not matter.

by mzs 5y ago

throwawayboise 5y ago
But what does "yield" mean? It means slow down, and proceed when it's safe to do so. If a pedestrian starts crossing a 4-lane road and I have time to turn across his path without making him stop or deviate, then I can proceed safely and I think I've met the definition of "yield"
- tzs 5y ago
  In Washington, where the video was recorded, the rule is that you must stop and remain stopped as long as there are pedestrians in the crosswalk in in your half of the roadway or within one lane of your half of the roadway. "Half of the roadway" is defined as all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction. In the case of a one-way road such as the one in the video "half of the roadway" is the whole road. In your 4-lane hypothetical, if there are two lanes in each direction you can drive through the crosswalk if the pedestrian is in the farthest away opposite direction lane from the lane you are in. In a 4-lane road with 1 lane in one direction and 3 in the other, you can drive through if you are in that 1 and the pedestrian is in the farthest 2 away from you. If you are in one of the 3 going the other way, you have to stop no matter which lane they are in, because they are either in your half (the 3 lanes going your direction), or within 1 lane of your half.
  - renewiltord 5y ago
    It is interesting how different the law is from behavior. Walking through Seattle, I would not expect that this was the law considering how often people will cross in front of and behind you (both of which I’m fine with).
    - sleepybrett 5y ago
      It's true that there are laws and enforcement, but an automated system needs to obey the laws. Anything else is a judgement and machines shouldn't be making judgements when lives are on the line.
  - SilasX 5y ago
    Fair point but that's less restrictive standard than (your long lost sibling?) mzs was saying applies here.
- mzs 5y ago
  In the state I live in it is illegal to enter a crosswalk when there is a pedestrian in it when the road is undivided as in this example. I find it unlikely that there is any state where it's legal to do so for a one-way street such as this. (There are states that treat the crosswalk as two halves when there is two-way traffic.)
SilasX 5y ago
Ehhh at most that would be one of those things where, "yeah, that is the law but it's pretty impractical and unnecessary for people to follow to the letter and so everyone breaks it when safe to do so and it's a dick move to actually write tickets in those cases." If a driver is trying to turn right, and the pedestrian has just entered the crosswalk other side of the street, 40 ft away, it seems stupid to wait for them to clear the whole 40 ft when your right turn doesn't put them at risk. I say that even when I'm the pedestrian in that situation.[1] If the worst thing about SDCs that they do these kinds of violations (which would also include going 62 in a 60 mph zone), then I would say SDCs are a solved problem.. Though to be clear, Teslas are not at that point! [1] Not just idle talk -- I cross East Riverside Drive in Austin a lot on foot, where this exact situation is common.

You must yield to pedestrian in crosswalk, how far away the pedestrian is does not matter.

by mzs 5y ago

You must yield to pedestrian in crosswalk, how far away the pedestrian is does not matter.

But what does "yield" mean? It means slow down, and proceed when it's safe to do so. If a pedestrian starts crossing a 4-lane road and I have time to turn across his path without making him stop or deviate, then I can proceed safely and I think I've met the definition of "yield"

tzs 5y ago
In Washington, where the video was recorded, the rule is that you must stop and remain stopped as long as there are pedestrians in the crosswalk in in your half of the roadway or within one lane of your half of the roadway. "Half of the roadway" is defined as all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction. In the case of a one-way road such as the one in the video "half of the roadway" is the whole road. In your 4-lane hypothetical, if there are two lanes in each direction you can drive through the crosswalk if the pedestrian is in the farthest away opposite direction lane from the lane you are in. In a 4-lane road with 1 lane in one direction and 3 in the other, you can drive through if you are in that 1 and the pedestrian is in the farthest 2 away from you. If you are in one of the 3 going the other way, you have to stop no matter which lane they are in, because they are either in your half (the 3 lanes going your direction), or within 1 lane of your half.
- renewiltord 5y ago
  It is interesting how different the law is from behavior. Walking through Seattle, I would not expect that this was the law considering how often people will cross in front of and behind you (both of which I’m fine with).
  - sleepybrett 5y ago
    It's true that there are laws and enforcement, but an automated system needs to obey the laws. Anything else is a judgement and machines shouldn't be making judgements when lives are on the line.
- SilasX 5y ago
  Fair point but that's less restrictive standard than (your long lost sibling?) mzs was saying applies here.
mzs 5y ago
In the state I live in it is illegal to enter a crosswalk when there is a pedestrian in it when the road is undivided as in this example. I find it unlikely that there is any state where it's legal to do so for a one-way street such as this. (There are states that treat the crosswalk as two halves when there is two-way traffic.)

SilasX 5y ago

Ehhh at most that would be one of those things where, "yeah, that is the law but it's pretty impractical and unnecessary for people to follow to the letter and so everyone breaks it when safe to do so and it's a dick move to actually write tickets in those cases." If a driver is trying to turn right, and the pedestrian has just entered the crosswalk other side of the street, 40 ft away, it seems stupid to wait for them to clear the whole 40 ft when your right turn doesn't put them at risk. I say that even when I'm the pedestrian in that situation.[1] If the worst thing about SDCs that they do these kinds of violations (which would also include going 62 in a 60 mph zone), then I would say SDCs are a solved problem.. Though to be clear, Teslas are not at that point! [1] Not just idle talk -- I cross East Riverside Drive in Austin a lot on foot, where this exact situation is common.