PARSIPPANY — As the weather has warmed up over the last few weeks more people have been out walking around town. For your safety always use the marked crosswalks at intersections and mid street, where applicable.
If you are in a marked crosswalk with walk, don’t walk signals, you must obey the walk/don’t walk signals. Failure to do so may result in a summons.
If the marked crosswalk is not controlled by any signs or signals, traffic must stop for you, or they can be ticketed. This does not mean you should dart into the roadway in marked crosswalk. Always be safe.
If no crosswalks are present you must yield the right of way to vehicles. You should always look both ways and confirm no vehicles are coming.
If a vehicle fails to yield the right of way, you can write down their license plate information. You can then go to the Parsippany Municipal Court and issue a summons. Police Officers cannot issue a summons unless we witness the violation.
So far 82 pedestrians have been struck and killed by motor vehicles during various incidents this year in the State of New Jersey.
For reference here are some of the pertinent traffic laws:
39:4-32 Crossing a Roadway
39:4-33 Use of Designated crosswalk: PEDESTRIANS MUST obey pedestrian signals and use crosswalks at signalized intersections. Both carry a $54.00 fine for failure to observe the law.
39:4-36 Driver to yield to pedestrian at crosswalk: MOTORISTS in New Jersey MUST stop for pedestrians in a marked crosswalk. Failure to observe the law may subject you to one or more of the following: 2 points, $200 Fine, 15 days community service and/or insurance surcharges.
The driver of a vehicle must stop and stay stopped for a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk, but shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except at crosswalks when the movement of traffic is being regulated by police officers or traffic control signals, or where otherwise prohibited by municipal, county, or State regulation, and except where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided, but no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.
Whenever any vehicle is stopped to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.
Every pedestrian upon a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.
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