What Are the Pedestrian Laws in Texas?

Pedestrian collisions happen daily throughout Texas and across the United States and. In many cases, negligent or distracted driving causes these accidents, as well as a disregard for traffic laws. If you suffer injuries in a pedestrian collision, you will need to file an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit to receive compensation. In both situations, you will need to prove that you are not responsible for the accident.

One of the most common ways courts or insurance companies find pedestrian liability is examining if the pedestrian followed Texas pedestrian law. Many pedestrians are unaware of what exactly Texas laws say about pedestrian right of way. Here’s everything you need to know about pedestrian laws in Texas.

Texas law implements certain right of way laws to protect pedestrians from motor vehicles.

In addition, pedestrians must follow these ordinances when crossing areas where they do not automatically have the right of way.

In addition to these state laws, your specific city or municipality may implement laws for pedestrian crossing. Always check with your city or municipal agency to confirm if you are following correct pedestrian laws.

Many people can identify a marked crosswalk by its painted white lines and other indicators. However, less people are familiar with an unmarked crosswalk. Many drivers fail to realize that Texas law requires that they yield at both marked and unmarked crosswalks – and this can lead to collisions, injuries, and even death.

An unmarked crosswalk is a crosswalk that does not have painted lines or other indicators. They can be difficult to identify, but most intersections in Texas represent crosswalks, even when no indicators are present. An unmarked crosswalk is basically an extension of the sidewalk that crosses the intersecting streets.

However, unmarked crosswalks are only at intersections – they cannot be in any other place along the street. In situations where you are crossing anywhere that is not a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, you must yield the right of way to oncoming motor vehicles.

Texas operates using a comparative negligence rule for lawsuits involving car accidents. If you file a personal injury lawsuit, the jury will assess the facts of your case and determine if you share a portion of the liability. If you crossed the street in a place other than a marked or unmarked intersection, for example, you could share a portion of the liability. The jury will then reduce your settlement amount by the percentage of your fault.

For example, say that you file a personal injury lawsuit against a negligent driver and receive a $100,000 settlement to compensate for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, etc. However, the jury finds that you crossed the street in an area other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk.

The jurors determine that you are 40% responsible for your accident. As a result, you only receive $60,000 at payment. If the jury finds that you are at-fault for 50% or more of the accident, you will not receive any damages.

If you are in a pedestrian accident , consider hiring a personal injury attorney to represent your claim or lawsuit. He or she can conduct a full-scale investigation into the circumstances of your accident and determine who is liable.

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