Karen Cuaresma: Obey the law, let pedestrians cross

According to the Department of Transportation, in 2012 there were 4,743 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles and 76,000 injured. These numbers can be reduced by pedestrians and drivers both their parts Pedestrians need to be more y seen by such wearing colors that are easily visible at night.

I walk in the morning on a regular basis. At the Tuolumne and Tully intersection, a market crosswalk, nearly every day I have to put my hand up to stop the cars to allow me to cross. According to California Vehicle Code 21950 (a), a driver of a motor vehicle must yield the right of way to pedestrians while crossing the street (once they have left the curb) within any marked crosswalks, or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. This means you yield (stop or slow down allowing pedestrians to cross) as they walk across the street to get to the other side – not pass by them when they are in the middle of the crosswalk. California law also states you must allow the pedestrian to cross to the other side of the street before proceeding. This is not rocket science, but common sense. Obey the laws.

This story was originally published November 3, 2014 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Karen Cuaresma: Obey the law, let pedestrians cross."