Crossing The Road
75 Pa.C.S. 3542 — with no signal working, the driver yields in a crosswalk, and not yielding carries a $50 fine
In a 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 to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
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. Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a crosswalk at an intersection or a marked crosswalk yields the right of way to all vehicles on the roadway. A pedestrian crossing where a tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided yields to all vehicles, and the driver's duty in the crosswalk section does not apply there.
| Where the crossing is | Who yields |
|---|---|
| Where the crossing isIn a marked crosswalk | Who yieldsThe driver |
| Where the crossing isIn a crosswalk at an intersection, marked or not | 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 signaled intersections in an urban district | Who yieldsCrossing is only in a marked crosswalk |
Between adjacent intersections in urban districts at which traffic control signals are in operation, pedestrians cross only in a marked crosswalk. No pedestrian crosses an intersection diagonally unless official traffic control devices, a police officer or another appropriately attired person authorized to direct traffic authorizes it, and then only as the signal for that movement directs.
The right of way is not unconditional. No pedestrian suddenly leaves a curb or other place of safety and walks or runs into the path of a vehicle so close as to constitute a hazard.
The car behind. When a vehicle is stopped at a crosswalk at an intersection, or at a marked crosswalk, to let a pedestrian cross, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear does not overtake and pass it.
The penalty. A driver who does not yield as the crosswalk rule requires commits a summary offense and, on conviction, is sentenced to pay a fine of $50.
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 Pennsylvania attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- 75 Pa.C.S. 3542 — Right-of-way of pedestrians in crosswalks
- 75 Pa.C.S. 3543 — Pedestrians crossing at other than crosswalks
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.