Exploring a beautiful city on foot is ideal, especially when the weather is great and the walkways are scenic. However, you’re exceptionally vulnerable to pedestrian accidents when walking. One of the riskiest spots for pedestrians is in crosswalks, which makes proceeding with caution very important. If you were injured by a motorist’s negligence when you were crossing the street, it’s time to consult with our Boca Raton crosswalk accident lawyer.
Our seasoned pedestrian accident attorney can pursue compensation for your full range of losses to support a potential favorable outcome. Turn to the trusted legal counsel at Your Damage Lawyer for help with your situation.
In this state, a crosswalk refers to any continuation of a sidewalk or shoulder from one side of the road to the other. Often, crosswalks are identified by bold white lines, but this isn’t always the case.
Motorists are required to recognize that crosswalks exist at every corner of every intersection where a sidewalk ends at the roadway. If you’re unsure if your accident occurred at a crosswalk, our Boca Raton attorney can review your case and help clarify.
The City of Boca Raton is committed to the safety of pedestrians, and it implements important rules and regulations to help prevent accidents, such as at crosswalks, which our attorney could help explain. Pedestrians face the greatest risk of being injured in dangerous accidents at those points where they intersect with traffic or when they cross the road. As such, motorists are required to yield to pedestrians in both marked and unmarked crosswalks.
Motorists pose a very significant danger to pedestrians, so drivers have a serious responsibility toward the safety of pedestrians, which includes yielding the right-of-way to those in marked or unmarked crosswalks. When you approach a pedestrian in any crosswalk, you must bring your vehicle to a stop and allow the pedestrian safe passage to cross the road. This includes vehicles behind the first stopped vehicle, as passing forward motorists stopped for pedestrians in crosswalks isn’t allowed.
As a pedestrian, you also have a responsibility to safety. You must obey all pedestrian traffic signs, lights, and signals. Wait until all oncoming traffic has stopped before leaving the curb, as trusting motorists to obey the law is too risky. Unless a marked crosswalk specifies otherwise, you should always take the shortest path to the opposite curb and cross at a right angle. It also helps if you wear comfortable shoes that provide good traction, avoid distractions, and wear bright or reflective clothing that increases your visibility.
The city recognizes how heavy downtown pedestrian traffic is in relation to the beach and a multitude of other attractions. In response, it has created a “Heads Up Boca!” campaign that includes four designated pedestrian crosswalks along Palmetto Park Road to help reduce accidents, which our attorney can discuss with you.
When these crosswalks are flashing or when pedestrians are in them, drivers are required to stop. These intersections also provide pedestrians with signal buttons to push on arrival. The goal is to reduce the aggression and distraction that some motorists adopt in response to heavy pedestrian traffic.
Our experienced Boca Raton crosswalk accident lawyer at Your Damage Lawyer can review your accident details and work toward protecting your rights. Your claim is important, so please don’t wait to reach out for more information about what we can do to help by contacting us online or giving our firm a call today.
