Nowhere is it more clear to me than at QFC on Evergreen Way that pedestrians don’t know that they have laws to obey. People just push their carts from the store to the parking lot without looking right or left or before stepping off the curb. Looking both directions before stepping off a curb is something their parents should have taught them.
No, it is not your right to step into traffic and hope the driver can stop in time. Even at a clearly marked sidewalk, the intelligent thing to do is:
Put the cell phone away.
Look both directions, if there is a car approaching, catch the driver’s eye and make sure he sees you.
Do not step off the curb or blithely push your cart into the crosswalk without making sure the way is clear.
Why ruin several families’ lives with a tragic accident?
Some Washington state pedestrian laws:
Pedestrians must use sidewalks when available. If sidewalks are not available, pedestrians must walk on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder, facing traffic.
No pedestrian or bicycle shall suddenly leave a curb and move into traffic so that the driver cannot stop.
Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway.
Eileen Lane
Everett
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