Crossing the Road
ORC 4511.46 and 4511.48 — who yields depends entirely on where the crossing happens
Two sections face each other here and they point opposite ways. One puts the duty on the driver and one puts it on the person on foot, and which of them applies turns on a single question: was the crossing inside a crosswalk or outside one. Almost every argument about who was in the right is really an argument about that.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
Inside a crosswalk, the driver yields. Where traffic control signals are not in place, not in operation, or are not clearly assigning the right of way, the driver of a vehicle, trackless trolley or streetcar yields the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be to do so, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway the vehicle is traveling on, or is approaching so closely from the opposite half as to be in danger.
A crosswalk does not have to be painted. The section speaks of a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. The unmarked one is the part people do not expect: an ordinary intersection with no paint on it still has a crosswalk across it, and the driver's duty does not wait for a line to be drawn.
Outside a crosswalk, the pedestrian yields. Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk, or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, yields the right of way to all vehicles, trackless trolleys or streetcars upon the roadway. Where a pedestrian tunnel or an overhead crossing has been provided, a pedestrian crossing at that point yields to all traffic on the roadway.
| 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 |
| Where the crossing isWhere a tunnel or overhead crossing is provided | Who yieldsThe pedestrian |
| Where the crossing isBetween adjacent signaled intersections | Who yieldsCrossing is only in a marked crosswalk |
Between adjacent intersections at which highway traffic signals are in operation, pedestrians do not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk. And no pedestrian crosses a roadway intersection diagonally unless authorized by official traffic control devices; where it is authorized, the crossing is made in accordance with the devices pertaining to that movement.
The right of way inside a crosswalk is not unconditional. No pedestrian suddenly leaves a curb or other place of safety and walks or runs into the path of a vehicle, trackless trolley or streetcar which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. The driver's duty in the crosswalk section also does not apply under the conditions stated in the division of the other section that puts the duty on the pedestrian.
The car that did not stop is committing its own offense. Whenever a vehicle, trackless trolley or streetcar is stopped at a marked crosswalk, or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, to permit a pedestrian to cross, the driver of any other vehicle, trackless trolley or streetcar approaching from the rear does not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle. That is the maneuver behind a large share of the serious ones, and it is written as its own prohibition rather than left to general care.
Violating the crosswalk section is a minor misdemeanor, except as otherwise provided in that division, which is the usual pattern where prior traffic offenses raise the degree.
A separate section deals with a blind pedestrian carrying a white cane or using a guide dog, and where sidewalks are provided a pedestrian does not walk along and upon an adjacent roadway.
Local ordinances regulate crossings as well, and a municipality's own code may say more than these sections do. Which vehicle had the right of way in a particular collision, and what a civil claim arising from it is worth, are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney; a traffic citation is a separate matter from any civil claim and neither decides the other.
Sources for this section (5)
- ORC 4511.46 — Right of way of a pedestrian within a crosswalk
- ORC 4511.48 — Right of way yielded by a pedestrian outside a crosswalk
- ORC 2929.24 — Definite jail terms for misdemeanors
- ORC 4511.47 — Right of way of a blind pedestrian and the white cane
- ORC 4511.50 — Pedestrians on the roadway where there is a sidewalk
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.