Pedestrians on a roadway need to know how to follow the law, and more importantly, they need to know how to protect themselves in order to prevent serious injury. I was recently consulted by a pedestrian who was hit by a car whose driver admittedly did not see the pedestrian in the roadway. The pedestrian was shocked when he received a summons in the mail for what is commonly known as jay-walking.

As I explained to him, there is a New Jersey law which governs where pedestrians should cross a street and where they should walk if there are no sidewalks. Pedestrians are required to cross within crosswalks. However, if there is no crosswalk, pedestrians must cross at a corner. The statute goes on to mandate that pedestrians have to walk on the sidewalk, where one is provided. However, where there is no sidewalk or pedestrian walkway, pedestrians must walk on the extreme left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing and walking toward approaching traffic.