Pedestrian Right of Way in California

Right of way is one of the first questions in a claim for a person hit while walking, the kind of case described on our pedestrian and bicycle accidents page. California answers it in a short chapter of the Vehicle Code, sections 21949 to 21971, plus the signal rules in sections 21451 and 21456. The Legislature opened that chapter with a statement of policy: safe and convenient pedestrian travel, "whether by foot, wheelchair, walker, or stroller," and fewer pedestrian deaths and injuries (Vehicle Code 21949).

In 2022 the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 2147, which took effect on January 1, 2023 and changed when police may stop a person for crossing the street the "wrong" way. This guide explains the yielding rules, what that law changed and what it left alone, and how all of it plays out when a person on foot is hurt and the driver's insurer says the walker was to blame.

How is the right of way decided, step by step?

Find out where the person was crossing. A crosswalk is either the part of the road marked with lines for crossing, or, at an intersection where roads meet at roughly right angles, the area between the extended lines of the sidewalks, even with no paint at all (Vehicle Code 275). There is no crosswalk where local authorities have posted signs saying no crossing.
In a crosswalk, the driver yields. The driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing within a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection (Vehicle Code 21950(a)), and must use due care and reduce speed or take other action as needed to keep the pedestrian safe (Vehicle Code 21950(c)).
Check the signals. A WALK signal lets a pedestrian start across, yielding to vehicles lawfully within the intersection when the signal first appears. A flashing hand with a countdown lets a pedestrian start, but the crossing must be finished before the countdown ends (Vehicle Code 21456(a)).
Outside a crosswalk, the pedestrian yields. A person crossing anywhere else must yield to vehicles so near as to be an immediate hazard (Vehicle Code 21954(a)). Between two adjacent intersections that both have signals, pedestrians must cross only in a crosswalk (Vehicle Code 21955(a)).
The driver's duty of care never switches off. Even when the pedestrian should have yielded, the driver must still exercise due care for anyone on the roadway (Vehicle Code 21954(b)). Drivers must keep a lookout for pedestrians and control their speed and movement (CACI 700).
If both were careless, fault is shared. A jury sets each person's percentage, and the injured person's damages are reduced by their own share rather than wiped out (CACI 405).

Who must yield, and can police stop the pedestrian?

Situation	Who yields	Police stop of the pedestrian since 2023	Vehicle Code
Pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection	The driver, who must also slow down or act as needed	Only if a reasonably careful person would see an immediate danger of a collision	21950
Pedestrian crossing anywhere else	The pedestrian, to vehicles close enough to be an immediate hazard; the driver still owes due care	Same immediate-danger limit	21954
Crossing mid-block between two adjacent signalized intersections	The pedestrian should use a crosswalk	Same immediate-danger limit	21955
Crossing near a pedestrian tunnel or overhead crossing that serves the spot	The pedestrian, to vehicles close enough to be an immediate hazard	Same immediate-danger limit	21953
Walking along a road outside a business or residence district	The pedestrian keeps close to the left edge, facing traffic; the right edge is allowed when no safe way to cross is available	Same immediate-danger limit	21956
A car ahead has stopped at a crosswalk for a pedestrian	Drivers behind it may not pass the stopped car	Not a pedestrian rule	21951
A driver about to cross a sidewalk, such as at a driveway	The driver, to any pedestrian approaching on the sidewalk	Not a pedestrian rule	21952

What exactly changed on January 1, 2023?

Assembly Bill 2147 was signed on September 30, 2022, as Chapter 957 of the Statutes of 2022. It added the same three-part paragraph to the pedestrian rules in sections 21451, 21456, 21950, 21953, 21954, 21955, 21956 and 21961. First, a peace officer "shall not stop a pedestrian" for a violation of that rule unless a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision with a moving vehicle, or with a device moving only by human power, such as a bicycle. Second, the change does not relieve the pedestrian of the duty to use due care for their own safety. Third, it does not relieve the driver of the duty of due care for any pedestrian in the roadway.

The rules themselves were not repealed. Section 21955 still says that between adjacent signalized intersections, pedestrians "shall not cross the roadway at any place except in a crosswalk." Local governments may still pass ordinances against crossing outside crosswalks, subject to the same limit on stops (Vehicle Code 21961). What changed is enforcement: a stop for a crossing that posed no immediate danger of a collision is no longer allowed.

The bill also asked the California Highway Patrol to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2028 on whether the changes affected pedestrian safety. The current version of section 21456, the WALK and countdown rule, became operative on January 1, 2024.

Does the 2023 change help me if I was hurt crossing outside a crosswalk?

Only indirectly. The change is about police stops, not about fault in a civil claim. The statute keeps the pedestrian's duty of due care in so many words, and the rules about where to cross still exist. If a pedestrian broke one of those rules and that helped cause the crash, a jury may presume the pedestrian was careless (Evidence Code 669; CACI 418) and reduce the recovery by the pedestrian's share.

The same tools work against the driver. A driver who failed to yield in a crosswalk, drove too fast for the conditions, or passed a car stopped for a walker also violated a statute meant to protect pedestrians, and the presumption runs the other way. The Judicial Council's instruction on crosswalk duties, CACI 710, tells jurors that a pedestrian's carelessness "does not relieve a driver" of the duty of reasonable care. A decision the Judicial Council cites under CACI 710 calls the crosswalk rule "a preferential, but not absolute, right" for the pedestrian.

So a pedestrian hit mid-block is not barred from recovering just for crossing there; the recovery is reduced by the pedestrian's share, if any (CACI 405). The questions become how close the car was when the person stepped out, whether the driver was looking, and how fast the car was going. Under the immediate-hazard test, a vehicle is a hazard when it is so near, or approaching so fast, that a reasonably careful person would realize there is a danger of collision (CACI 703).

What about turning drivers, signals and stopped cars?

At intersections with traffic lights, the signal rules add a layer. A driver facing a green light, including one turning, must yield to pedestrians lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk (Vehicle Code 21451(a)). A pedestrian facing a circular green may cross in a marked or unmarked crosswalk, but yields to vehicles already lawfully in the intersection when the light turns (Vehicle Code 21451(c)). Our guide on who has the right of way in a left-turn or intersection crash covers the driver-to-driver rules for each kind of signal and sign.

One rule surprises many drivers: when a car has stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross, a driver coming up from behind may not overtake and pass it (Vehicle Code 21951). On a road with two lanes in each direction, the stopped car can hide the walker from a driver in the next lane. Drivers leaving a driveway or a lot must also yield to anyone on the sidewalk before crossing it (Vehicle Code 21952); our guide on who is responsible when a car hits you in a parking lot explains what changes off the public street.

How often are pedestrians hurt in Healdsburg, San Rafael and Novato?

The California Office of Traffic Safety ranks each city against others of similar population, and each county against all 58 counties. In these rankings, 1 means the highest rate, or the worst, in the group. These are the latest figures it shows, for 2023:

Area (2023)	Pedestrians killed or injured	Rank	Pedestrians 65 and older	Rank
San Rafael (cities of 50,001 to 100,000)	44	1 of 103	9	2 of 103
Novato (cities of 50,001 to 100,000)	17	34 of 103	3	28 of 103
Healdsburg (cities of 10,001 to 25,000)	6	11 of 103	3	4 of 103
Marin County	101	22 of 58	18	2 of 58
Sonoma County	106	27 of 58	14	48 of 58

San Rafael ranked first, the highest, among the 103 cities in its size group for pedestrians killed or injured in 2023, and second for pedestrians 65 and older. Our page on injury cases in San Rafael lists the local police and claim offices. Novato ranked 7th of 103 for pedestrians under 15, and the Novato injury page covers that city's offices. Healdsburg ranked 4th of 103 for walkers 65 and older; see our page on injury cases in Healdsburg for its records and claim steps. The Office of Traffic Safety counts only crashes inside city limits for city rankings, and says its rankings are only indicators of potential problems that must be weighed against local circumstances. The county-wide courts and claim offices are on our page about personal injury cases in Sonoma County.

What changes the answer?

Whether the corner was really a crosswalk. An unmarked crosswalk exists only at an intersection where roads meet at roughly right angles, and not across a street from an alley; posted no-crossing signs remove it (Vehicle Code 275). Measurements and photos of the corner settle this.

Whether the pedestrian stepped out suddenly. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety into the path of a vehicle so close that it is an immediate hazard (Vehicle Code 21950(b)). But that subdivision does not relieve the driver of the duty of due care for a pedestrian in the crosswalk (Vehicle Code 21950(d)).

The signals in place. Starting to cross on a steady hand, or on a flashing hand without a countdown, is not permitted, while a flashing hand with a countdown allows a start if the crossing is finished in time (Vehicle Code 21456(a)).

Darkness and speed. A driver must keep a speed reasonable for visibility (Vehicle Code 22350), so "I never saw her" is a fact to test, not a defense. Our guide on pedestrian crashes at night explains the headlight and speed rules.

A child was hurt. A child who breaks a traffic rule may rebut the presumption of carelessness by showing the care ordinarily used by children of the same maturity, intelligence and capacity in similar circumstances (Evidence Code 669(b)(2)). Our guide on injury claims for children explains the court approval a child's settlement needs.

The crossing itself was dangerous. A missing signal, faded markings or a hidden crossing may point to the city, county or State, with a written claim due within six months (Government Code 911.2). See crashes involving a dangerous road.

What could this look like? An example

For example, imagine a man walking home in downtown San Rafael who crosses mid-block, between two corners that both have traffic signals. The street is clear when he starts, but a driver turns onto the block, looks down at a phone, and hits him about two-thirds of the way across.

He was not in a crosswalk, and section 21955 says he should have been, so he had to yield to vehicles close enough to be an immediate hazard (Vehicle Code 21954(a)). Because no car was close when he stepped off the curb, a police officer could not have stopped him for that crossing under the 2023 change. In a civil claim, his crossing may still be weighed. The driver, though, owed due care to a pedestrian in the roadway (Vehicle Code 21954(b)) and had to keep a lookout (CACI 700). A jury might find the driver mostly responsible and assign the walker a smaller share, and his damages would be reduced by that share. This example is made up to show how the rules fit together; it says nothing about any real case.

What mistakes do people make after a crosswalk crash?

Assuming that crossing outside a crosswalk ends the claim, when California reduces a recovery by the pedestrian's share instead of barring it.
Assuming the 2023 change means the crossing location no longer matters in a civil claim.
Not photographing the corner, the paint, the signals and any no-crossing signs before they change.
Telling the driver's insurer "I didn't look" before anyone knows how fast the car was going.
Waiting to ask nearby businesses for camera footage that may be recorded over.
Missing the six-month claim when a city or county crossing design may have played a part.

What should I do this week?

Write down exactly where you crossed: the street, the nearest corner, and whether there were painted lines or a signal.
Photograph the crossing, the signals and the sight lines from where the car came, at the same time of day if you can.
Request the crash report; our guide on getting a crash report in Sonoma County lists the offices.
Ask nearby homes and businesses, in writing, to keep any video from that day.
Find your own auto policy, since your uninsured motorist coverage may protect you on foot; see what your own car insurance does for a pedestrian.
Keep every medical record and bill, and a short daily note of pain and missed activities.
Note the deadlines in California personal injury deadlines: generally two years, or six months for a public agency.

Frequently asked questions

Is jaywalking still illegal in California?

The rules still exist. Pedestrians outside a crosswalk must yield to close vehicles, and between adjacent signalized intersections they must use a crosswalk (Vehicle Code 21954 and 21955). Since 2023, police may stop a pedestrian for those violations only when a reasonably careful person would see an immediate danger of a collision.

Is every street corner a crosswalk?

Many are. At an intersection where roads meet at roughly right angles, the extension of the sidewalk lines across the street is an unmarked crosswalk, painted or not, unless local authorities have posted no-crossing signs (Vehicle Code 275). The extension from an alley across a street is not a crosswalk.

Can I start crossing when the hand is flashing?

Only if a countdown is showing, and you must finish before it ends. A steady hand, or a flashing hand with no countdown, means do not start; anyone already crossing should continue to the sidewalk (Vehicle Code 21456(a)).

Can a driver pass a car that has stopped for a pedestrian?

No. When a vehicle has stopped at a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, to let a pedestrian cross, a driver approaching from behind may not overtake and pass it (Vehicle Code 21951).

Does a ticket or no ticket decide fault?

No. Whether police cited anyone is not the same as civil fault. A jury in a civil case decides negligence and percentages of responsibility under the jury instructions (CACI 405 and 700).

Do these rules cover cyclists?

Bicycle riders have their own rules in the Vehicle Code, and the questions of fault differ. Our guide on who is at fault when a car hits a cyclist covers them.

If you were hit while walking and the driver says you had to yield, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page for a free consultation.

When must a driver yield to a pedestrian in California, and what changed with the 2023 jaywalking law?