Treasure Island Florida City Government

Gulf Beach News

Crosswalk Fever

I just want to take a minute to try to clarify all the confusion over the new crosswalks that seem to be springing up from nowhere along Gulf Blvd. You know what crosswalks I’m talking about. Some are marked by flashing lights, some are marked by bright green signs and some just seem to have been painted in the middle of nowhere because some DOT paint crew had a couple of gallons of extra traffic paint and didn’t want to haul them back to the shop.

According to the Florida State Traffic Statutes, if you are driving a car, or truck, or motorcycle or even a bicycle and a pedestrian steps into a crosswalk on your side of the street, then you are suppose to stop and yield the right of way to the guy crossing the street. If the guy crossing the street starts at the other side of the road, you have to stop once he gets to your side of the road. And, here’s the kicker, if one car stops then everyone is suppose to stop.

Now if you are the guy who is crossing the street and you think that just because you are in a crosswalk every car is going to stop for you once you set foot in the crosswalk you are going to die. Technically, if you are crossing the street and using a crosswalk that is not a part of a intersection with traffic lights, then you must wait for a break in traffic before crossing the street. You must allow oncoming traffic a REASONABLE amount of time to stop and allow you to cross the street. Trust me, if you just step out in front of a Buick trying to make last call for the Early Bird Special, you are going to die.

So what is a reasonable amount of time? I use this formula. If the car is in a different state as the crosswalk I’m using to cross the street then that is a reasonable amount of time.

My advice, unless you are in a cement truck. don’t expect that rental car being driven by someone from up north who is still suffering from snow blindness, or that pimple faced kid driving that jacked up pick up truck that daddy bought him, or that soccer mom in the Expedition who is on the cell phone telling her husband she is divorcing him to stop, to slow down or even be aware you exist. In other words, don’t trust the painted crosswalk, the flashing signs and the bright green signs to protect you. Don’t trust anyone driving a car, SUV, van, truck or motorcycle to obey that painted crosswalk, flashing light or bright green sign.

Use your common sense, wait until there is no traffic in sight and then run for your life across the street.