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Difficulty: Very hardPedestrian and Vulnerable Road User Laws

You are driving a motor vehicle in the right lane of a four-lane undivided roadway. As you approach an intersection where the traffic control light signal is completely dark due to a power outage, a vehicle in the left lane traveling in your direction slows down and comes to a complete stop before the marked crosswalk. A visually impaired pedestrian carrying a extended white cane is crossing from the left side of the street within the crosswalk. Under traffic law, what action is the driver in the right lane legally required to take?

  1. Come to a complete stop prior to entering the crosswalk and remain stopped until the pedestrian has safely cleared the roadway.Answer
  2. B
    Pass the stopped vehicle at a reduced speed after visually confirming that the pedestrian is still on the far left side of the street.
  3. C
    Maintain the posted speed limit while proceeding through the intersection because a dark signal light defaults to an advisory warning.
  4. D
    Slow down and prepare to yield right-of-way only after the pedestrian physically steps into the right lane of travel.

Answer

Come to a complete stop prior to entering the crosswalk and remain stopped until the pedestrian has safely cleared the roadway.
Traffic safety law specifies that whenever a vehicle stops at a marked or unmarked crosswalk to allow a pedestrian to cross, drivers approaching from behind or in adjacent lanes must not overtake or pass the stopped vehicle. Additionally, visually impaired pedestrians carrying a white cane maintain absolute right-of-way. Therefore, the approaching driver in the right lane must come to a full stop prior to the crosswalk and remain stopped until the pedestrian has safely crossed.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the legal requirement for an inoperative traffic light signal.
When a traffic signal is completely unlit, drivers must treat the intersection as an uncontrolled all-way stop.
Dark traffic signals create high hazard conditions requiring mandatory stopping and yielding procedures.
2
Evaluate the rule prohibiting overtaking stopped vehicles at crosswalks.
Whenever any motor vehicle is stopped at a marked or unmarked crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross, approaching drivers in adjacent lanes are strictly forbidden from passing the stopped vehicle.
Passing a stopped vehicle at a crosswalk is a leading cause of severe pedestrian collisions because the stopped vehicle blocks sightlines.
3
Apply statutory rules regarding visually impaired pedestrians.
Pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired and carrying a white cane always have absolute right-of-way.
Drivers must yield the right-of-way and take all necessary precautions to prevent injury to visually impaired road users.

Key Concept

Prohibition against overtaking vehicles stopped at crosswalks and mandatory right-of-way for visually impaired pedestrians
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Topics

Pedestrian and Vulnerable Road User Laws

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