St. Petersburg Pedestrian Accident Laws
Pedestrians legally have to walk in the crosswalk, they have to walk on the sidewalk, and they cannot walk in the middle of the street or jaywalk. Those are the only pedestrian laws in St. Petersburg. Because walkers are not in a vehicle, so none of the driving laws would apply to them. The laws are they cannot jaywalk, they cannot run in the middle of the street, and they have to follow the signal on the crosswalk.
The rule that applies to pedestrians when they use a public crosswalk is they have to follow the lights on the crosswalks. Just like green lights and red lights on the street for drivers, pedestrians have to follow the lights. If you feel you need a better understanding of St. Petersburg pedestrian accident laws before pursuing a claim, contact an experienced injury attorney right away.
Bicycle or Car Traffic Expectations
St. Petersburg pedestrian accident laws are not the same for other forms of transportation. Cars have their own laws that they have to abide by that do not apply to bicyclists or pedestrians. Bicyclists have additional helmet laws and bike lane laws; they have to follow the way the bike lane is pointing, which is usually with the direction of traffic. Bikes, depending on whether they are motorized or how fast they go, will usually have to be in the bike lane versus the sidewalk, because the sidewalk has speed limitations depending on what kind of bicycle one is in as opposed to pedestrians who can walk on the sidewalk or run on the sidewalk as fast as they can.
Importance of Following Traffic Laws
The reason laws are in place is for safety and so that everybody knows where everybody is supposed to be on the roads. It is important to only walk on crosswalks and walk on the sidewalk, because that is where cars expect pedestrians to be. If they pop up somewhere where a car does not expect them to be and a car hits them, it still may be the car’s fault, but the pedestrian is the one who is going to be seriously injured and should have been following the traffic laws.
Issue of Negligence
The defense can argue that the pedestrian was at least partially at fault if they were not following the traffic laws. If they were jaywalking, they will argue that some of the liability is on the pedestrian and not on the person driving the vehicle. If the pedestrian is found to be partially at fault, like 25 percent at fault, then they will only receive 75 percent of the award or the amount that is due to them. If the jury finds that the pedestrian was doing something wrong, being negligent, or was partially at fault, it is usually how they find that they are liable for a portion of the accident. Contact an established lawyer to discuss St. Petersburg pedestrian accident laws further.