Some of the most challenging pedestrian motor vehicle accident cases involve child dart out situations and stranded drivers walking on the highway. Rules of comparative negligence apply, but there are jury instructions that act as guideposts. Wisconsin laws for pedestrian right of way do not by default favor the pedestrian. Every situation is different and a pedestrian must be on constant look out for his or her own safety. After an accident we can look at the facts and apply the law to get a financial recovery for a severely injured pedestrian. The pedestrian right of way laws in Wisconsin are very specific depending on the circumstances. The following rules address some situations a pedestrian may find him or herself in.
A safety statute provides that at an intersection or crosswalk where traffic is not controlled by traffic control signals or by a traffic officer, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way to a pedestrian who is crossing the highway within a marked or unmarked crosswalk. “Right of way” means the privilege of the immediate use of the roadway. The statute further provides that a pedestrian shall not 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 difficult for the driver of the vehicle to yield the right of way. If the jury finds that pedestrian suddenly left the curb or other place of safety and walked or ran into the path of the vehicle which was so close that it was difficult for the vehicle to yield, then driver did not have a duty to yield the right of way; but if you find that pedestrian did not enter the roadway, then it became the duty of driver to yield the right of way to pedestrian.
A safety statute provides that a pedestrian walking along and upon a highway other than a sidewalk shall walk on and along the left side of the highway and upon meeting a vehicle shall, if practicable, step to the extreme outer edge of the traveled portion of the highway. The traveled portion of the highway includes the shoulder. If the jury finds that the pedestrian was on the left side of the highway as he or she walked on and along it, then it became pedestrian’s duty upon meeting a vehicle, if it could be practicably done by him or her, to step to the extreme outer limits of the traveled portion of the highway.
McCormick Law Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin provides attorney representation for pedestrians injured in auto accidents for medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering.
