CSG-West (The Council of State Governments-Western Region) is holding its annual conference in Breckenridge, Colorado at the Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center.  Speaker Greg Curtis assigned Rep. Neil Hansen and me to represent the Utah State House on the Fiscal Affairs Committee (2005-2006).  Most of my time today was spent in a relatively small conference room in professional development seminars.  I did, however, get a chance to venture out onto the charming downtown street of Breckenridge for a few minutes.  What a wonderfully picturesque little town (kind of a nicer Park City feel).

During my meanderings through town I noticed the drivers around Breckenridge yielding for pedestrians.  NO REALLY!  They stopped…for people…in crosswalks.  This is something completely foreign to me since I moved to Utah a decade and a half ago– people…drivers…yielding the right-of-way to pedestrians.  I don’t recall (generally) seeing drivers in Utah yield for pedestrians in crosswalks unless there was a signal…and perhaps the driver was from out of state.  Maybe Utah pedestrians are supposed to yield to Utah drivers–after all, that seems to be the collective standard.   But, you know me–I had to find out for myself.  And, what I found out will shake you to the very core!

The Utah Code  
 
(Dum, duh, dum, dum…dum, duh, dum, dum, dah…It’s the end of Dragnet, remember?  When the sentence was read and the criminal went to the big house!)
 
41-6a-1002.   Pedestrians’ right-of-way — Duty of pedestrian.

     (1) (a) Except as provided under Subsection (2), when traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the operator of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way by slowing down or stopping if necessary:
     (i) to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is on the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling; or
     (ii) when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.
     (b) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply under conditions of Subsection 41-6a-1003(2).
     (c) A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
     (2) The operator of a vehicle approaching a school crosswalk shall come to a complete stop at the school crosswalk if:
     (a) a school speed limit sign has the warning lights operating; and
     (b) the crosswalk is occupied by a person.
     (3) If a vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the operator of any other vehicle approaching from the rear may not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle.
 
So, there it is.  According to current Utah statute, drivers must yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk; however, pedestrians also have a responsibility not to inadvertently dart out in front of a car so as not “to constitute an immediate hazard.”

A Challenge

Let’s try a little experiment.  Next time we see a pedestrian safely enter a crosswalk– yield the right-of-way—please!  Don’t step on the gas (similar reaction to what happens when we see a yellow light turning red).  This isn’t a game of chicken.  This is reintroducing a component of civility back into our communities.