Crossing The Road
Veh. Code 21950 — the driver yields in any crosswalk, marked or not; outside one, the pedestrian yields to a vehicle near enough to be an immediate hazard
In a crosswalk, the driver yields. The driver of a vehicle yields the right of way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk, or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as the chapter otherwise provides. A driver approaching a pedestrian in a crosswalk exercises all due care and reduces speed, or takes any other action needed, to safeguard the pedestrian.
A crosswalk does not have to be painted. The rule reaches an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection as well as a painted one. An ordinary intersection with no paint across it still has a crosswalk, and the driver's duty does not wait for a line to be drawn.
Outside a crosswalk, the pedestrian yields to a vehicle near enough to be a hazard. A pedestrian on a roadway anywhere other than within a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection yields the right of way to all vehicles on the roadway so near as to constitute an immediate hazard. That does not relieve the driver of the duty to exercise due care for the pedestrian's safety.
| Where the crossing is | Who yields |
|---|---|
| Where the crossing isIn a marked crosswalk | Who yieldsThe driver |
| Where the crossing isIn an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection | Who yieldsThe driver |
| Where the crossing isAnywhere else on the roadway | Who yieldsThe pedestrian, to a vehicle near enough to be an immediate hazard |
| Where the crossing isBetween adjacent signaled intersections | Who yieldsCrossing is only in a crosswalk |
Between adjacent intersections controlled by traffic control signal devices or by police officers, pedestrians do not cross the roadway at any place except in a crosswalk.
When an officer may stop a pedestrian for it. A peace officer does not stop a pedestrian for a violation of the crosswalk rule, the rule outside a crosswalk, or the rule between signaled intersections unless a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision with a moving vehicle or other device moving exclusively by human power. That limit does not relieve the pedestrian of due care for their own safety, or the driver of due care for any pedestrian in the roadway.
The right of way is not unconditional. It does not relieve a pedestrian of the duty of using due care for their own safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle so close as to constitute an immediate hazard, or unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a crosswalk. And that duty on the pedestrian does not relieve the driver of due care for any pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Crossings at a working signal follow the signal, under sections that are not on this page. Who was at fault in a particular collision, and what a particular ticket means, are questions for a licensed California attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- Veh. Code 21950 — Pedestrians’ rights and duties: right-of-way at crosswalks
- Veh. Code 21954 — Pedestrians’ rights and duties: outside crosswalks
- Veh. Code 21955 — Pedestrians’ rights and duties: crossing between controlled intersections
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.