Drivers Must Stop For Pedestrians At Every Crosswalk
Drivers, get ready to stop–a lot.
A bill which makes a dramatic change in how motorists drive and interact with their pedestrian counterparts, is headed to the Governor’s desk.
Illinois House Bill 43, which passed the state Senate Thursday, makes changes to the present law that will soon require vehicles to come to a complete stop when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk.
This includes ALL crosswalks–marked or unmarked where there’s not a stop sign or traffic light.
For years, Illinois law only required that motorists “yield” to pedestrians in crosswalks which according to proponents of the bill, lead to confusion on how it should be enforced.
“We’re not creating a new law,” says Illinois Senator Heather Steans (7th District). “All this law changes is ‘yield’ to ’stop’”–it makes it a lot clearer.”
Margo O’Hara, spokesperson for the Active Transportation Alliance, the pro-biking and pedestrian group that spearheaded the legislation, points to the 6000 pedestrians hit by vehicles each year in Illinois as justification for the law. With over 1000 of those pedestrians struck were seriously injured and 171 people killed last year, O’Hara believes this change in the law is necessary to protect people.
“This is a clarifying law that prioritizes people on he streets and clarifies driver responsibility,” explains O’Hara. “Because the driver is operating a two ton vehicle, and drivers are licensed, the law prioritizes (the road) for the most vulnerable.”
Drivers could be ticketed anywhere from $50 to $500 for violating the law in Chicago, according to the CDOT website.
Steans admits that Illinois motorists will need to make a dramatic change to the way they drive in regards to pedestrians. Pedestrians, especially on busy streets, have had to wait while cars whiz by and until traffic has cleared before they could cross the street at a crosswalk without a traffic signal.
Drivers, after the bill is signed, will have to come to a complete stop, even on busy streets, when pedestrians approach the entrance of a crosswalk to traverse that street–even if there are no signs. Keep in mind that on a typical busy Chicago thoroughfare, every block between signalized intersections has a crosswalk. Meaning, at peak pedestrian times, drivers theoretically could be stopping to allow people to cross at every corner.
This new driving reality may take time to sink in for drivers, who are used to the previous policy where pedestrians are subordinate to motorized vehicles.
The new law may also be confusing to drivers initially, especially if there are no signs.
Steans says she’s considering, “Putting a trailer bill together to add signage, but I don’t want to create a big burden of cost. It’s definitely something I want to look into.”
This new law will become effective immediately, if signed by Gov. Quinn, according to the Illinois General Assembly website. The Governor has 60 days to sign the bill.
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If this change becomes law it will definitely take some getting used to, for both drivers and pedestrians. When I’ve been in other cities where stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks is the norm, it’s always been a bit disconcerting when I would wait to cross the street as a pedestrian and traffic would stop for me. My first thought would be something like “What are you doing? Keep going so I can cross after you pass,” followed by the realization that they’re waiting for me to cross. It just shows how ingrained these habits can get, on both ends, and I don’t see the change in Illinois law being successful without signage or some sort of promotional/educational campaign.
Jay!
You nailed it. I think the exact same thing.
There’s this social inertia, for lack of a better term, that is going to be tough to reverse.
Drivers are used to having precedence over pedestrians. Pedestrians know they have to wait for cars to pass.
But now, we have to learn to do the opposite.
Education, and signage.
My thoughts exactly.
This comes off as a knee jerk reaction to an isolated incident or incidents . Imagine the chaos in the cities like Chicago, Springfield, Rockford, Aurora , or the collar suburbs
So are we voting Heather Steans out or what?
This is how it was when I visited Edmonton, Alberta in Canada.
It’s amazing what happens when you treat pedestrians like they’re actually human beings. For one, drivers pay a whole lot more attention to their surroundings, including “vulnerable” users like pedestrians and cyclists. Two, there seems to be a general sense of mutual respect, as opposed to people grumbling because the other won’t get out of the way fast enough (I’m reminded of that classic Disney cartoon where Goofy is afflicted with road rage as soon as he gets behind the wheel). And finally, because pedestrians are actually respected and acknowledged, there seems to be a whole lot more of them.
I think this law is a great step in the right direction.
How do you know if it is a crosswalk if it is not marked?
Traffic will not move in Chicago. Imagine waiting for pedestrians to finish crossing in the Loop, Michigan Ave., River North, or weekends in most neighborhoods. There’s a constant stream of people. I’m all for making it safer to walk. I walk a lot. But I don’t think anyone gave this serious thought.
Here here, Benny the Icepick! God forbid people slow down and respect other users of the roads. I applaud this law. Sure drivers are going to complain, as they do about anything that inconveniences them. But as a driver, cyclist, and pedestrian in this city and state, I fully support any measure that further protects the rights and safety of the most vulnerable users of the road. Everyone is always in such a hurry, they forget just how much damage they can cause with their cars. Pay attention, respect others, and relax!… it’s a much more enjoyable world for everyone that way.
Red Raspberry……..any T intersection or 4 way intersection, by design; has implied crossing areas at the corners; lines are not required by start law Nor CDOT policy.
As a OEMC supervisor for the City, I am sick to death of watching drivers violation the state required 3 foot Safe Distance and roll right up to them.
HOWEVER;
I would like to see Streets and San or Right of Way Management have Lines put at every intersection to help make it OBVIOUS to those drivers in this city that plainly; Don’t know how to drive.
There is a rumor of Camera enforced Stop Signs in the next 6 to 12 months.
I’d like to see authorization for OEMC to install them at Crosswalks, so that the CPD doesn’t have to stick a car on every corner.
Easy job…put a button on the walk pole….activates the camera for the amount of time it takes someone in their 50’s to walk across the road. Any cars fail to stop once that button is pushed until the timer ends….photo ticket in the mail.
What’s the big deal, isn’t this what everyone is taught when they start driving? As the story states, it’s already the law that drivers must yield to pedestrians– this means “stop” if there is a pedestrian crossing the street. Most people seem to have no problem doing this at the multiple crosswalks near UIC on Ashland or by the jail on 30th and California.
As far as driving in the Loop, how many crosswalks without traffic lights are there? Pedestrians will still have to follow traffic signals.
Myshkin,
I think the point of the bill is that people DON’T stop to allow pedestrians to cross. And pedestrians assume cars won’t stop and therefore, won’t step off the curb for fear of being killed.
The fear I would have is peds assuming car drivers know about the new law and just start walking cross the street assuming the cars are going to stop.
I think it’s going to take a long time for everyone to get on the same page.
I’m all for protecting the safety of pedestrians. What I worry about is cross walks like the one by the Thompson Center on randolph. It is in the middle of the block. Theoretically, if there is a constant stream of pedestrians across the cross walk, traffic would never move. I’ve never understood that crosswalk any how. Why can’t government employees walk one half of a block down to cross?
Wohoo! First guy that rear ends me when I slam on the breaks is going to get the life sued out of him. And it’ll all be because some jerk charged out into the crosswalk knowing full well that I was close enough to the crosswalk that I’ll hardly stop in time. BTW Watch for this to lead to insurance scams a plenty…
Jose,
Stop sign cameras, really? Great money maker…eh! You, the mayor and aldermen can go fvck yourselves! I work with OEMC personnel all the time and 90% of you political hacks are not worth the air you suck in. I’ve been inside Oz watching as the city-wide cameras were monitored by two fat guys, who are not watching the screens, they reading the paper.
Yet another reason to pick up my life and move out of state. Several friends have of late and every single one of them now marvels at just how bad Illinois really was.
Having lived in NYC, LA & Chicago, the difference in driver/pedestrian habits are as different as night and day. The mistakes in the implementltion and education is a disaster. Sen. Steans statement this not new law, but just a modification of existing law is, my opinion, a sophmoric statement. If the proposed law changes the way motorists and pedestrians interact, it has the same effect as a new law. Passing this bill into law without a public education program puts everybody at risk. The Active Transportation Alliance, the bill’s proponet has picked a short-sighted approach without considering the overall ramifications of putting everyone at greater risk. One wonders what percentage of the pedestrian injuries and deaths were inherently caused by the pedestrian themselves, this not mentioned in their statistics. If the ATA really wants to do a good deed, then teach pedesrians and bicyclists not use cell phones or Ipod devices which block out their perception of their environment, namely walking in traffic irresponsibly without looking or listening. One other lesson to everyone should learn is everyone must make eye contact. It’s a subconcious protective habit not taught or tested for by any public agency. If this bill is going to become law it should be re-written first to deal with reality.
Patriot….not all OEMC employees are political hacks.
Some of us actually got in with ….oh holy shit..a simple application and college degree.
Whats your call sign? Mines OC12.
I live downtown in “Printers Row”, almost every day I see flagrant disregard for pedestrians (the elderly, school children, dog walkers, people with baby strollers) at clearly marked crosswalks around the Polk and Dearborn area. I’m all for putting a finer point on what I thought was already a pretty fundamental law . . . enforcement will be difficult IMO.
I read the bill. Anti Meridian and Post Meridan? There are many other ambigous reference in this bill, it’s a travesty of common sense. I am all for safety unfortunately too bad this bill isn’t.
Traffic in the loop will come to a standstill. This state is $13 billion in the hole and this is the shi* they come up with? If adults can’t cross the street without looking both ways for traffic, then walk the half block down to where there is a light or stop sign. Maybe we can hire a pedestrian cross-walk helper for every crosswalk in the city and they can have pensions as well. Don’t even get me started on how many PEDESTRIANS constantly cross when the lights tell them not too and then give drivers a dirty look for going when the light is green for them.
Craig — Don’t be so ridiculous about traffic coming to a standstill. There are hardly any mid-block crosswalks in the Loop, and you apparently are totally overlooking the fact that pedestrians are traffic too. Our transportation system is for moving *people* not just automobiles — not to mention most people in the Loop are not in cars. Most people go downtown by train, and there are more pedestrians on a street downtown at any given time than there are cars. If drivers are too impatient to stop for 10 seconds to let someone safely cross the street when they have the right of way, then they should probably go see a shrink. Get over your superiority complex, expecting other people to waste 5 minutes walking out of their way to a traffic light cross a street because you’re too impatient to let them cross at a crosswalk when they have the right of way.
@Lee As both a pedestrian most often and a driver in the loop occasionally, it is not the worry about being impatient. Right now, with cross walk at lights, cars go, then people go, then cars go, etc. Under this new law, there could potentially be an endless stream of pedestrians at a cross walk–such as by the Thompson center and the Daley Center. At times like 9AM and Lunch, traffic in the loop could potentially come to a complete standstill.
By the way, if it takes someone 5 minutes to walk a half of a block, they are either horribly disabled or horribly obese. Most people can do it in a minute.
Regardless of the Law change….things would need to change in the Loop with regards to 2 things.
Cops would need to actually be pro-active in regards to enforcing traffic lights and jaywalkers.
It is about safety after all….for the drivers and pedestrians.
We don’t want injuries or deaths due to stupidity.
There will not be this massive congestion because of this law. Massachusetts has a similar law as do other states. It just makes it clear who has the right of way – the pedestrian who is at risk of injury.
It also forces drivers to be more attentive and prepared to stop for pedestrians. No more excuses about hitting pedestrians.
While I agree that this is good for pedestrians crossing an intersection without signals, this could be chaos in downtown chicago.
Every day I drive, I see pedestrians crossing the intersection AGAINST the light, taking their sweet time and expecting the traffic that has a green light to yield to them. Going north on state street, and getting into a turn lane which has a green/red arrow at State/Madison to go east, pedestrians constantly disregard the “red hand of death” and walk into the street simply because the green arrow for turning lights up. This causes a lot of traffic problems because there is always a constant stream of pedestrians, and the turn lane can stay stationary for 2 or 3 traffic signal cycles.
I don’t mind letting the elderly/disabled get extra time to cross the street, or if they venture/wander into the road to cross, but when there is a group of able-bodied young thugs that run into the street and hold up their hands like a traffic cop to stop traffic, while gangster-tripping and taking their time to cross the street while laughing……
Intersections without signals and marked/unmarked crosswalks, pedestrians should have the right of way, and cars should be required by law to yield to them (Isn’t this already state law?)
Intersections with signals, especially in downtown chicago, pedestrians should follow the rules, and not think that they are somehow invulnerable. (Downtown Chicago has the worst offenders)
All it will take is one Cop to get some back bone and Cite a ped for Jaywalking…and you will see the stupidity end.
And then they need to enforce the Red Lights in the Loop…not like the Traffic Aides are allowed to.
This law is a monkey f@@@ of legislature made by people who do not lke to consider the rights of others. A wiser person put traffic signals up for a reason and giving inconsiderate pedestrians more sway over vehicular traffic is irresponsible. Most of time pedestrains flood intersections in busy areas to boss traffic intersections. The screw in this law is that it legalizes th above practice when pedestrians do not have the light. Basically discouraging driving in central busicess areas, that is foolish as is the law.
If there are traffic lights, everyone waits their turn. This law doesn’t give pedestrians the right to cross against a red light.
If there are stop signs, the driver waits for the pedestrian just as before.
This law only addresses the condition where there is a crosswalk and no stop sign or light. We have this condition to save drivers time: they don’t need to stop if there are no pedestrians. The new law is an attempt to make it clear that if there is a pedestrian approaching or in the crosswalk, the driver must act the same as if there were a stop sign: stop and yield.
My experience around Lincoln Park is that almost no drivers yield or stop at crosswalks without stop signs or traffic lights. I believe the vast majority of drivers think I’m jay-walking and they have the right of way. We need this law. We also need to inform the public and to enforce the law hard–especially in the beginning–because of the risk of more collisions between empowered pedestrians and ignorant drivers.
Its a simple F’ing Fix…
Yield To Pedestrians Signage.
Not that Half the fuckers in this city bother to look up from their crack-berries when they drive
I have been in other cities where pedestrians are given the right-of-way at **UNSIGNALED** crosswalks (Toronto, ON; Madison, WI). Note that everywhere there are signals, pedestrians are required to follow the signals.
What happens is that the pedestrian typically does something that clearly indicates they are crossing. Typically they take a step off the curb, but not yet in traffic. They stare at the oncoming traffic, and as soon as the cars start slowing, they proceed across. (In Toronto, it is quite common for a person to hold out an arm, pointing across the street to make it even clearer.)
Just as with the case on side streets where a child darts in front of a car, it is not the fault of the driver if they cannot stop.
The “stings” of the CPD are set up to clearly define a violator. The pedestrian does not step out unless the car is far enough away to be able to avoid the pedestrian.