Most streets and neighborhoods are designed with vehicles as the primary consideration, which makes it challenging for pedestrians to navigate roads safely. Watertown residents must take extra precautions to ensure they stay safe when traveling by foot, but not even the most careful pedestrian can remove all risks associated with walking on sidewalks and crossing streets.
To help promote safe travel for all types of commuters, Connecticut and Watertown have implemented various traffic laws that apply to pedestrians and how motorists must share the road. However, despite these traffic laws for Watertown pedestrians, accidents do still occur. If you have been injured in a pedestrian accident, the attorneys at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, want to help you pursue the compensation you need and deserve. Contact us to discuss your accident and how Watertown’s laws could impact your financial recovery.
State law requires that motorists yield the right of way to pedestrians who have started or are starting to cross the road in a crosswalk. To clarify this vague requirement, Connecticut law also provides a description of what it looks like when a pedestrian is crossing the road in a crosswalk, stating that vehicles must yield when a pedestrian:
Pedestrians can satisfy the requirement to signal their intent to cross by moving any part of their body or an extension of their body into the entrance of the crosswalk, and this includes wheelchairs, canes, strollers, crutches, bicycles, and leashed dogs.
Even when drivers have a green light at an intersection, they are legally required to yield to pedestrians within a crosswalk.
Right-of-way laws may be the most applicable to pedestrian accidents because so many people are struck by vehicles whose drivers fail to yield, but there are numerous other laws that pedestrians and motorists should be aware of.
This state law requires that drivers exercise due care to avoid hitting pedestrians. It also says that motorists should blow their horns or use another legal noise-emitting device to warn pedestrians in order to avoid collisions.
Pedestrians must obey signs and take action to protect their own safety when walking in Watertown, and this statute establishes the requirement that pedestrians follow any traffic officer, sign, marking, control signal, or device. It also states that pedestrians cannot recklessly disregard the safety of another person.
Section 14-300c states that pedestrians must use sidewalks when provided rather than walk in the roadway, and when there is no sidewalk, they must walk on the shoulder or as far away from the edge of the roadway as possible. It also requires pedestrians to yield the right-of-way to emergency vehicles when the siren or lights are on.
The attorneys at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, have been helping injured pedestrians across Connecticut for 100+ combined years. We know the traffic laws for Watertown pedestrians and can help you file a legal claim against a negligent driver. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and discuss the potential next steps for pursuing compensation for your injuries.