Pedestrian and driver duties

It is the chapter of Act 22-2000 devoted to pedestrians’ duties and drivers’ duties toward them. It is written in both directions at once, and it corrects a common belief: the pedestrian is not always right, but the driver is not off the hook when the pedestrian is wrong either.

Article 9.02 applies to every pedestrian crossing a public road. Article 9.03 applies to anyone driving a vehicle on public roads. Article 9.04 applies to every driver of autocycles, scooters, motorcycles or any other motorised vehicle as regards elevated pedestrian bridges and safety zones. And Article 9.05 applies to anyone placing themselves in the roadway.

• None: these are rules of conduct on the public road, not a procedure. Article 9.01 requires obeying the official traffic control devices specifically applicable to the pedestrian, including pedestrian signals, unless a law enforcement officer orders otherwise.Verified against the official source

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1. 1

   Step 1: Crossing outside the crosswalk: the pedestrian yields

   Article 9.02(a) says it directly: when crossing outside an intersection or crosswalk, the pedestrian “shall yield to every vehicle travelling on that road”. There is no qualification. At intersections, subsection (b) requires crossing by the crosswalk and, where it is controlled by lights, crossing only on the green or the “walk” indications in their favour, under Articles 8.02 and 8.03 of the Act. And subsection (c) adds that between consecutive intersections, either of which is light-controlled, crossing shall be only by the crosswalks marked on the pavement.

2. 2

   Step 2: Tunnels and bridges must be used, and not on a motorcycle

   Article 9.02(d) says that where there are tunnels or other structures built for pedestrian crossing, pedestrians must use them. And in the same sentence it forbids something else: “the use of those tunnels or elevated structures by people mounted on bicycles, autocycles or scooters, motorcycles and similar vehicles is prohibited”. Article 9.04 reinforces and fines: elevated pedestrian bridges and safety zones are for the exclusive use of pedestrians, no driver may use autocycles, scooters, motorcycles or any other motorised vehicle on elevated bridge structures for pedestrian use, and whoever does shall be fined five hundred dollars. In addition, no vehicle shall at any time be driven through or over a safety zone.

3. 3

   Step 3: With no sidewalk, walk on the left facing traffic

   Article 9.02(f) is the one most people get backwards. Every pedestrian shall travel on sidewalks only, and where there are none, so far as possible and practical, “they shall walk on the left edge or shoulder of the public road, facing traffic”, and shall not leave it abruptly and quickly when a vehicle is coming so close that the driver cannot yield. The Act makes a curious and specific exception: in funeral processions on foot, pedestrians walk on the right side of the roads, occupying no more than half the roadway. And subsection (e) forbids crossing the roadway diagonally at an intersection, unless official devices authorise it, and then only in accordance with them.

4. 4

   Step 4: A hundred dollars, five hundred if it causes a crash

   Article 9.02(g) puts the fine on the pedestrian’s side and names who pays it. Any pedestrian travelling the public roads “negligently and recklessly without following the due standards of attention and care” commits an administrative offence punished with a hundred dollar fine. “If they cause a traffic accident by their conduct, the fine shall be five hundred (500) dollars”. And it adds the part that surprises families: where the pedestrian committing the offence is a minor, the person holding patria potestad, custody over them or legal guardianship shall be responsible for paying the fines imposed for any violation of this Act and for the damages that minor causes.

5. 5

   Step 5: The driver yields where there is no traffic light

   Article 9.03(a) requires everyone driving on public roads, where there are no traffic lights installed or they are not working, to yield the right of way — slowing and stopping if necessary — to every pedestrian crossing the roadway by a crosswalk, when that pedestrian is crossing the roadway the vehicle is travelling on “or when the pedestrian may be in danger while approaching from the opposite half of the roadway”. That second half matters: the duty does not wait for the pedestrian to reach your lane.

6. 6

   Step 6: Do not overtake the car that is yielding

   Article 9.03(b) is short and prevents one of the most typical collisions: do not overtake another vehicle that has stopped or slowed “because it is yielding to a pedestrian at a crosswalk”. The stopped car ahead of you may be hiding someone.

7. 7

   Step 7: The duty of care survives the pedestrian’s fault

   This is the chapter’s most important sentence. Article 9.03(c) requires taking every precaution not to run over pedestrians, “taking special precautions where the pedestrians are children, older people or people with disabilities”. And it continues: “These precautions shall be taken even where the pedestrian is making incorrect or illegal use of the public road. The use of the horn by itself shall not relieve the driver of responsibility, if that use is not accompanied by other safety measures”. Any driver violating this article commits an administrative offence with a hundred dollar fine.

8. 8

   Step 8: What nobody may do standing in the road

   Article 9.05 forbids placing yourself in the roadway of a public road in order to solicit a free ride or offer to watch vehicles free or for pay; to take collections of any kind; to distribute propaganda of any kind; or to lie down or sit in the roadway for any purpose. The same article directs the Secretary to make the regulations needed to authorise use of a public road to sell or offer products, and adds a saving the Act expressly protects: “The distribution by sale of newspapers on the public road within a radius of one hundred and fifty (150) feet of a traffic light shall never be prohibited”.

There is no procedure: these are rules of conduct on the public road. A stop for any of these administrative offences is made by the law-enforcement officer or the Municipal Police, and the ticket is handled through the ordinary traffic-ticket review route. The regulation authorising sales on the public road that Article 9.05 mentions falls to the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works.

• Believing the pedestrian is always right: crossing outside an intersection or crosswalk, the pedestrian yields to every vehicle.
• Crossing on red because nothing is coming: at light-controlled intersections you cross only on the green or the walk indication.
• Crossing diagonally: it is prohibited unless official devices authorise it.
• Walking on the right where there is no sidewalk: the Act requires the left edge, facing traffic.
• Stepping off the sidewalk abruptly: the Act forbids it when a vehicle is so close the driver cannot yield.
• Taking a motorcycle onto a footbridge: it is five hundred dollars, and use is reserved to pedestrians.
• Thinking the pedestrian fine is symbolic: it is a hundred dollars, and five hundred if their conduct causes an accident.
• Believing nobody pays a minor’s fine: it is paid by whoever holds patria potestad, custody or guardianship, along with the damages caused.
• Overtaking the car that stopped ahead: it may be yielding to a pedestrian you cannot see.
• Waiting for the pedestrian to reach your lane: the duty to yield also covers one approaching from the opposite half who may be in danger.
• Believing that if the pedestrian crossed wrongly the driver is off the hook: the Act says the precautions are taken even where the pedestrian is making incorrect or illegal use of the road.
• Relying on the horn: by itself it does not relieve responsibility unless accompanied by other safety measures.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (DTOP)

  DTOP

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov