Lawbreaker

by Stacy on November 12, 2008

I live in a sleepy little town called Corvallis. Like almost every other town in the US, Corvallis has streets, and along those streets, sidewalks, and upon those sidewalks, pedestrians. Corvallis has a lot of pedestrians, and it’s a college town, so most of those pedestrians are of the young, cellphone-jabbering, iPod-blabbering variety.

Corvallis has a crosswalk law. However, the exact nature of this law has many interpretations. Some say the law requires motorists to stop for all pedestrians waiting at crosswalks. Others say the law requires motorists to stop for pedestrians who have entered a crosswalk. And what is a crosswalk? Are they marked? Unmarked? Wherever a pedestrian feels like creating one? Who knows. Like many laws, this one is poorly written.

If you’ve stuck with me this far, I applaud you. This post really does relate to motorcycling and motorcyclists. Ok, actually, it’s about a motorcyclist, namely, me.

While riding my motorcycle…

  • I do not stop for pedestrians,
  • unless I’m already stopped in an intersection and waiting for them to cross so I can turn
  • and unless they are already in the middle of my lane.

Why? Because stopping in the middle of my lane makes me a sitting duck.

It’s my opinion that stopping for a pedestrian in an unexpected place is far more dangerous than stopping at an intersection. Consider riding down the typical through street with one lane of traffic in each direction and side streets every few blocks or so. The only stop light is many blocks ahead, and vehicles on the side streets must wait for traffic to clear before turning on to the through street. Every one of those side streets is a potential crosswalk, and because traffic doesn’t stop on the through street, commuter drones (i.e. other drivers) are not expecting to stop or even slow down. To top things off, pedestrians are small visual targets, as are motorcycles when seen from behind.

Now, I’m not naive enough to think that I’m safe from being hit from behind while stopped at an intersection.1 The difference is that I must stop at an intersection because the consequence of not stopping — getting nailed by cross-traffic — is pretty severe. However, in my opinion, the consequences for not stopping for a pedestrian aren’t quite as bad: the pedestrian has to wait a few more seconds, and, if the law happens to spot me, I might have to pay a $272 fine. Yes, the fine is really $272 for breaking the crosswalk law. For me, it’s worth every penny of that $272 to reduce my sitting duck exposure time.

1. There are, of course, ways to control some of your own destiny while stopped on the street, though that’s a topic for another day.

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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

1 irondad November 13, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Over on this side of the river the pedestrian law, I believe, has to do with turning a corner. You have to give the pedestrians a lane plus six feet before you can proceed behind them. Don’t think we’re required to actually stop for a pedestrian who is standing and waiting to cross.

You’re right about unexpected stops in front of traffic. You’d have to take the time to give the drivers behind you some warning like flashing the brake light.

You’re also right in that we can’t have Ducks in a Beaver city!

2 Stacy November 13, 2008 at 7:03 pm

I was thiiiis close to making a wisecrack about those pesky Ducks. I knew someone would have my back!

I’ll have to remember the Albanian version of the law the next time I’m over that way.

3 Allaina November 14, 2008 at 8:43 am

In Colorado we also have these laws and working in Boulder, another college town, is quite a challenge. I stopped for pedestrians not long ago and realized how vulnerable I was sitting there. Fortunately, the car behind me also stopped. Another motorcycle in the lane over, did not. Definitely made me think twice about it. Having seen many near misses in those crosswalks, I felt compelled to stop, but if the near miss had been me, maybe I wouldn’t. I’ll have to read the law as it is written to be better informed.

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