Do You Know The Rules For Cars And Crosswalks?

Chicago Crosswalk
rik-shaw (blekky) / Flickr
Chicago Crosswalk
rik-shaw (blekky) / Flickr

Do You Know The Rules For Cars And Crosswalks?

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After a death at a crosswalk in June, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office announced a rewrite for 2017 Rules of the Road booklet to clarify the rules for crosswalks that are not at intersections.

However, the language itself is a work in progress.

The change concerns flashing yellow lights at some of those crosswalks.

David Druker, a spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White, said flashing yellow lights should be taken as a signal to stop, not simply to yield.

However, the law doesn’t mention flashing yellow lights, and doesn’t require cars to yield unless a pedestrian is on the same side of the road as the vehicle.

WBEZ asked motorists at a drivers-license facility on the city’s Northwest Side what they thought the rules were.

Maurice Robinson said he would stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, as a courtesy.

“If I just see someone, I’ll let them cross,” he said. “That’s just me. I never realized that was the law. I just thought that’s courtesy to do that for people.”


Still confused? WBEZ reporter Dan Weissmann joined Druker and state Rep. David Harris on the Morning Shift on Tuesday to break down the question further. Hear their conversation by clicking play above.


Dan Weissmann is a reporter for WBEZ. Follow him @danweissmann.