The old adage that “the pedestrian has the right of way” may not always be accurate and involves the interpretation of the facts and circumstances surrounding each accident to determine who truly had the legal right of way involving a pedestrian vs. vehicle accident. Nevertheless, Florida laws have specifically provided for certain safety areas which should be accorded a higher degree of yield to pedestrians who have the right to traverse across our Weston, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale and neighboring Broward County Florida communities’ thoroughfares.

Our society seems to be in an ever increasing race to get somewhere and it appears that our motoring society is paying less and less attention and respect for pedestrians and particularly crosswalks. Florida law makes it mandatory that vehicles approaching a traffic controlled intersection with a clearly demarcated crosswalk to yield to pedestrians who have the right of way. Typical is the situation of an intersection governed by a stop sign or red traffic light with a crosswalk clearly painted in the roadway.

Nevertheless, many Broward County, Fort Lauderdale and Weston area Florida drivers tend to drive straight through a crosswalk and only slow or come to a complete stop if there is another motor vehicle approaching from the cross street. This of course could spell disaster for a pedestrian, bicyclist or handicapped individual attempting to walk along the crosswalk.

If you or someone you care for has been injured due to the apparent negligence of a motorist violating the right of way of a crosswalk please consider contacting the crosswalk pedestrian accident attorneys at the Schulman Law Group by contacting us toll free at (877) 529-0444 or contact us online.