Crossing The Road
G.L. c. 89, § 11 — the driver yields in a marked crosswalk, and a fine of not more than $200
In a marked crosswalk with no signal working, the driver yields. When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle yields the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk marked to the department's standards, if the pedestrian is on the half of the traveled way the vehicle is on, or approaches from the opposite half to within 10 feet of it.
No passing, and no entering. No driver passes another vehicle that has stopped at a marked crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. No driver enters a marked crosswalk while a pedestrian is crossing, or until there is enough space beyond the crosswalk for the vehicle, even where a traffic control signal indicates vehicles may proceed.
The penalty. Whoever violates any provision of the section is punished by a fine of not more than $200.
When a pedestrian is hurt in a marked crosswalk. Whenever a pedestrian is injured by a motor vehicle in a marked crosswalk, the state police or the municipal police department with jurisdiction of the street investigates the cause of the injury and any violation, and issues the appropriate civil or criminal citation or files an application for a criminal complaint, if any. The section does not limit a district attorney or the attorney general from seeking an indictment where the operation of a vehicle in violation of it causes injury or death.
This page reads the one section on marked crosswalks; the rules for crossing anywhere else are set in other provisions that are not on it. 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 Massachusetts attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.L. c. 89, § 11 — Marked crosswalks; yielding right of way to pedestrians; penalty
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Massachusetts attorney.