New N.J. law gives pedestrians more rights

A measure to protect pedestrians in New Jersey is expected to be signed into law by acting Gov. Stephen M. Sweeney.

The bill, approved by the Legislature Monday, would require motorists to stop - not just yield - for pedestrians in a marked crosswalk. And it would double, to $200, the penalty for violating the law.

Pedestrian deaths in New Jersey increased to 157 in 2009 after several years of decline. The 138 deaths in 2008 were down from 152 in 2007.

The most pedestrian deaths from 2006 to 2008 - nine - occurred on Route 130 in Burlington County, according to a review of federal data by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a transit advocacy group for New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. The group released its pedestrian-safety report this month.

The new measure would require drivers to stop and remain stopped while a pedestrian was in a marked crosswalk. Motorists now must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks but do not have a clear obligation to stop and remain stopped.

The measure also would provide pedestrians with the clear right to complete a crossing begun at an intersection on a green signal even if the signal changes. It also would require a driver making a right turn at a red or yellow traffic signal, or at a stop or yield sign, to stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian in the crosswalk into which the driver is turning.

Motorists must still yield to pedestrians in unmarked crosswalks at intersections.

If a vehicle hits a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, the legal presumption will be that the driver did not exercise due care.

Zoe Baldwin of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, which lobbied for the measure, praised the bill's passage.

"Walking reduces carbon emissions, obesity, and traffic, yet New Jersey roads and drivers often make it a dangerous way to get around," Baldwin said. "Clarifying the responsibility of drivers to 'stop and stay stopped' will protect walkers and help stem the recent spike in pedestrian deaths."

A spokesman for Sweeney said he did not know when the bill would be signed. Sweeney is filling in for Gov. Corzine, who went to Switzerland on vacation Wednesday, turning over the reins to the new Senate president. Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie is to be sworn in Tuesday.