Sharing the Road
with Pedestrians

2014
Edition

A guide for motorists and
pedestrians published by the
Arizona Department of Transportation

Tips for Sharing
the Road Legally
and Safely
This pocket guide illustrates how pedestrians and
motorists can “Share the Road” legally and safely within
Arizona.
Please read through these safety tips to better
understand the other person’s view of the road and to
learn more about walking and driving safely in our great
state. The more we understand each other’s needs, the
better we can respect and cooperate with each other on
the streets.
This second edition of the pedestrian and motorist pocket guide is brought to you by the Arizona Department of
Transportation Bicycle and Pedestrian Program.
© Copyright 2014. Produced by the Pima County Bicycle
and Pedestrian Program, Matthew Zoll, Program
Manager. Design and illustration by David Burnham,
Pima County Graphics.
Please refer to pages 34 through 41 for a listing of
relevant Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) pertaining
to pedestrian and motorist rights and duties.

look left - right - left for traffic,
cross only when it is clear, and
keep looking for cars as you cross.

•
•
•

Cross with your children at intersections whenever possible. Try to cross at the best
location where you have the longest distance to be able to see oncoming drivers
and for drivers to be able to see you.

The roadway may appear clear, but suddenly a vehicle may appear where you don’t
expect it.

Watch for Merging or Speeding Vehicles

stop at the curb,

•

Teach your children to:

Children ages 5 to 9 have
the highest risk of all
pedestrians of being hit
by a car, primarily due to
dashing out into the street.

Prevent Children from Dashing Out into Traffic
4 PEDESTRIANS
PEDESTRIANS 5

Wait until the bus stops, the door opens, and the driver says it is okay to get on.
To cross the street in front of the bus, walk five giant steps ahead of the bus
before you cross. Be sure you and the bus driver can see each other.
Never walk behind the bus.
If you drop something near or under the bus, tell the driver. Never try to pick it up.
The driver may not see you and begin to drive away.

•
•
•
•

This is extremely important to teach your children. Teach them that each lane must
be stopped before crossing.

A marked crosswalk does not assure your safety. Make sure that all vehicles are
stopped before crossing each lane.

Always Assume that Drivers May Not Stop

Stand at least three giant
steps away from the edge
of the road and line up
away from the street.

•

Practice these rules with 		
your child for staying safe
around a school bus:

Be Safe Around School Buses
6 PEDESTRIANS
PEDESTRIANS 7

This is a major concern in commercial as well as residential areas. Teach your
children to be especially careful when on or near driveways.

Drivers exiting a driveway sometimes
may not really “see” pedestrians,
especially children. Expect that a driver
may not see you.

Watch for Cars When Crossing Driveways

Children are often unaware of this condition and must be trained carefully to watch for
turning drivers.

Many times, a turning driver is looking at oncoming traffic and may not see you until
he is actually making the turn. Scan over your shoulder as you are crossing the street.

Watch for Turning Vehicles
8 PEDESTRIANS
PEDESTRIANS 9

Keep control of your children in parking lots at all times, as they can be very difficult
for drivers to see. Don’t allow them to run or play in parking lots.

Be aware of traffic at all times, and mind your children carefully. Try to exit parking lots
as soon as possible, or walk along the edges.

Parking Lots Can Be Hazardous

Remember: Drivers do their best to avoid you if they can see you!

Make sure you and your children are as visible as possible.

On roadways without sidewalks, walk facing traffic whenever possible and at
night wear bright colored reflective clothing and carry lights.

Be Visible to Motorists
10 PEDESTRIANS
PEDESTRIANS 11

Wear bright colored and reflective clothing that contrasts with the surroundings.
Carry a flashlight in low light conditions but don’t aim it directly at motorists.

Remember that at dusk or dawn when the sun is low, drivers may not see you.

Walk facing oncoming traffic and stay as far off the roadway as possible.

Tips for Walking in Rural Areas

Stay alert! Keep your attention on the road and traffic in front of you. Don’t assume
that motorists see you.

When possible, run against traffic where there are no sidewalks. Don’t dart out when
crossing the roadway. Be extra alert because you could be moving at a faster pace
than motorists expect.

Runners Should Use the Same Guidelines as Walkers
12 PEDESTRIANS
PEDESTRIANS 13

Don’t walk or stand on the
tracks.
Use the pedestrian walkways
and crosswalks. Pay attention
to and obey the crosswalk
countdown signals.
Light rail and streetcars are
quiet. Listen for warning
bells and look for headlights.
Adults should hold children’s hands near tracks and on platforms.
Keep volume low on headphones, so that you are aware of your surroundings.
Always stand behind the textured strips on platforms.

•
•

•

•
•
•

Be Alert Around Light
Rail and Streetcars

At roundabouts with two
entering and exiting lanes
make sure each lane of
traffic is stopped before
crossing.

Look left before crossing
to median island; look
right before crossing to
opposite sidewalk.

Use pedestrian crossings to
cross roadways in a roundabout.

Use Crosswalks to
Get Across Roundabouts
14 PEDESTRIANS
PEDESTRIANS 15

Large vehicles have several blind
spots where visibility is limited.
The rear wheels follow a shorter
path than the front wheels and
can come into your lane
or even up onto the curb.

•
•

Your ears are your first line
of defense when walking or
running near traffic.

Headphones and cell phones
cause distraction and reduce
your ability to hear traffic,
which could cost you your life.

Pay Attention and
Be Aware of Your
Surroundings

Stay a safe distance from trucks
and buses, when walking or driving.

•

Give Large Trucks Plenty
of Room

Step back from the curb.
Avoid driver’s blind spots.

16 PEDESTRIANS
PEDESTRIANS 17

On multi-lane roadways, if you come too close to a pedestrian, you may block the
next driver from seeing the pedestrian as he or she is crossing the roadway.

Pedestrians have the legal right to cross a roadway at and between almost all intersections. Drivers must yield to pedestrians at all marked and unmarked crosswalks.

YIELD!

Yield to Pedestrians at Marked and
Unmarked Crosswalks

Please slow down and be ready to stop.

Remember that children may play in or near a street and may often enter the street
unexpectedly. Children commonly dash out into the street without looking for cars or
without judging distances correctly to oncoming cars.

YIELD!

Watch for Children Dashing Out into Traffic
18 Motorists
Motorists 19

If a pedestrian is waiting, stop your car at about five feet from a crosswalk or at
the marked ‘stop bar’.
Don’t stop your car more than five feet from the crosswalk. A blind pedestrian
uses the sound of your engine as a guide, so pull up to the crosswalk to allow
the person to hear you.
Don’t give a blind pedestrian verbal directions. The blind pedestrian listens to all
traffic sounds before deciding to cross the street.
Don’t wait too long for a blind pedestrian to cross the street. If the person steps
back and pulls in his or her cane, it’s a definite sign you should go.
Look for any pedestrian or other traffic before starting your left or right turn.
Don’t turn right on red without looking right first.

Don’t stop in the middle of a crosswalk. This forces
the blind pedestrian to walk around your car and
into traffic outside of the crosswalk.
Don’t honk at a blind person. The blind
person has no idea who you’re honking
at and may be scared by the noise.

•
•

•
•
•

•

•

Tips to help drivers with visually impaired pedestrians:

Yield to Visually Impaired People

20 Motorists
Motorists 21

It is against the law to pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk (A.R.S. 28-792).

Exercise extreme caution when coming up alongside stopped or stopping vehicles,
and be prepared to stop for pedestrians who are walking in marked or unmarked
crosswalks.

STOP!

Don’t Pass Vehicles Stopped at Crosswalks

Please slow to a safe speed and look for children.

Always expect children to be around stopped school buses, even if the red lights of
the bus are not flashing. It is against the law to pass a stopped school bus with its
lights flashing (A.R.S. 28-857).

YIELD!

Always Stop for School Buses with Lights Flashing
22 Motorists
Motorists 23

Look both ways for pedestrians before turning onto the street.

Also, be mindful in commercial areas, where pedestrians should commonly
be expected.

Please avoid rushing into or out of driveways. Expect pedestrians on the sidewalk,
especially around schools, commercial areas and neighborhoods.

YIELD!

Exit Driveways Slowly and Carefully

Making Right Turns: Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Where not prohibited
by signs at a red light, a right turn may be made after coming to a complete stop,
when motor traffic and pedestrian traffic are clear.

Making Left Turns: Always be on the lookout for pedestrians, and scan
crosswalks before turning. Be aware that your windshield may partially block your
view, so make sure the crosswalk is clear before turning.

YIELD!

Yield to Pedestrians When Making Turns
24 Motorists
Motorists 25

YIELD!

Remember that a 3,000 pound vehicle can do a lot of damage even at only 5 miles
per hour.

Just as you would hope that other drivers watch for you as you’re walking in a
parking lot, be very aware and careful around pedestrians as you’re driving in a lot.

Yield to Pedestrians in Parking Lots

Watch for pedestrians or runners who may be walking or running along a roadway
that does not have sidewalks. Remember that they have the legal right to walk or run
on the edge of the roadway and that you must yield and avoid colliding with them.
(A.R.S. 28-796).

Watch for Pedestrians Walking Along the Roadway

26 Motorists
Motorists 27

3. Being extra careful when you see children, or a confused or incapacitated person
in the roadway.

2. Sounding the horn when absolutely necessary.

1. Clearly communicating to pedestrians by using your turn signals any time you
are changing lanes or turning at an intersection.

28-794. Drivers to exercise due care
Arizona law requires drives to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian
(A.R.S. 28-794). You can do this by:

Drivers Must Exercise Due Care

When entering, yield to
vehicles in the roundabout.
Wait for a gap in traffic
and merge into roundabout
traffic.

Yield to pedestrians in the
crosswalk; they have the
right-of-way.

When approaching a
roundabout, reduce your
speed.

Yield to Pedestrians
in Roundabouts
28 Motorists
Motorists 29

School zones are located on streets
where there is a designated school
crossing. Cross-walks are painted
yellow in school zones.
When school zone signs are posted, the
speed limit is 15 mph between portable signs.
Drivers are not allowed to enter a school
crosswalk if there is a pedestrian in any
part of the crosswalk.
Motorists cannot pass other
vehicles in a school zone.
Motorists cannot park on either
side of a school crosswalk.

•

•
•

•
•

Slow Down in School Zones

The signals at a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (also previously known
as a HAWK) remain off until a pedestrian presses a button.
Motorists then see a FLASHING YELLOW indicating that they
should prepare to stop, followed by a SOLID YELLOW, and then by a
solid RED requiring motorists to STOP. The pedestrian then crosses
the street. An ALTERNATING FLASHING RED means
that motorists are required to STOP or remain stopped until the
pedestrian finishes crossing the street.

Obey the Signals at a
Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon

30 Motorists
Motorists 31

20 mph

30 mph

40 mph

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percentage of crashes with pedestrians that are fatal

0%

Vehicle Impact Speed and Pedestrian Injury Severity

Never text while driving.
Texting while driving can take
your focus off of the road.
It is dangerous and illegal.

Uninjured

Injury

Fatal

Speeding greatly increases the chances of injury if a pedestrian and a car are
involved in a collision.

Pay Attention to
the Road, Not Your
Phone

Impact Speed

•

Slow Down When Pedestrians are Present
32 Motorists
Motorists 33

34 Arizona Traffic Laws

Relevant Pedestrian Statutes
Arizona Revised Statutes as of June 14, 2013
28-101. Definitions
“Pedestrian” means any person afoot. A person who
uses an electric personal assistive mobility device
or a manual or motorized wheelchair is considered a
pedestrian unless the manual wheelchair qualifies as a
bicycle. For the purposes of this paragraph, “motorized
wheelchair” means a self-propelled wheelchair that is
used by a person for mobility.
“Electric personal assistive mobility device” means
a self-balancing two non-tandem wheeled device with
an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum
speed of the device to fifteen miles per hour or less
and that is designed to transport only one person.
28-601. Definitions
“Crosswalk” means:
(a) That part of a roadway at an intersection included
within the prolongations or connections of the lateral
lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the
highway measured from the curbs or, in absence of
curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway.

Arizona Traffic Laws 35

(b) Any portion of a roadway at an intersection or
elsewhere that is distinctly indicated for pedestrian
crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.
“Intersection” means the area embraced within the
prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or if
none, the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two
highways that join one another at, or approximately at,
right angles, or the area within which vehicles traveling
on different highways joining at any other angle may
come in conflict. If a highway includes two roadways
thirty or more feet apart, each crossing of each roadway
of the divided highway by an intersecting highway is a
separate intersection. If the intersecting highway also
includes two roadways thirty or more feet apart, each
crossing of two roadways of the highways is a separate
intersection.
“Motorized wheelchair” means any self-propelled
wheelchair that is used by a person for mobility.
“Roadway” means that portion of a highway that is improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel,
exclusive of the berm or shoulder. If a highway includes
two or more separate roadways, roadway refers to any
such roadway separately but not to all such roadways
collectively.

36 Arizona Traffic Laws
“Sidewalk” means that portion of a street that is between
the curb lines or the lateral lines of a roadway and the
adjacent property lines and that is intended for the use
of pedestrians.
“Traffic” means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals,
vehicles and other conveyances either singly or together
while using a highway for purposes of travel.
28-646. Pedestrian control signals; loitering
prohibited
(a) If special pedestrian control signals exhibiting the
words “walk” or “don’t walk” are in place, the signals
shall indicate as follows:
1. Walk. Pedestrians facing the signal may
proceed across the roadway in the direction
of the signal and shall be given the right-of-way
by the drivers of vehicles.
2. Don’t walk. A pedestrian shall not start to cross
the roadway in the direction of the signal, but a
pedestrian who has partially completed crossing
on the walk signal shall proceed to a sidewalk
or safety island while the don’t walk signal is
showing.
(b) A pedestrian shall not loiter or unduly delay crossing
the roadway after traffic has stopped to give the
right-of-way.

Arizona Traffic Laws 37

28-791. Pedestrians subject to traffic rules
(a) Pedestrians are subject to traffic control signals at
intersections as provided in section 28-645 unless
required by local ordinance to comply strictly with
the signals. At all places other than intersections,
pedestrians are accorded the privileges and are
subject to the restrictions stated in this article.
(b) A local authority may require by ordinance that
pedestrians strictly comply with the directions of
an official traffic control signal and may prohibit by
ordinance pedestrians from crossing a roadway in a
business district or crossing a designated highway
except in a crosswalk.
28-792. Right-of-way at crosswalk
(a) Except as provided in section 28-793, subsection
B, if traffic control signals are not in place or are not
in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the
right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be in
order to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway
within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is on the half
of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling or
when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from
the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.
A pedestrian shall not suddenly leave any curb or
other place of safety and walk or run into the path of

38 Arizona Traffic Laws
a vehicle that is so close that it is impossible for the
driver to yield.
(b) If a vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at
an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit
a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of
another vehicle approaching from the rear shall not
overtake and pass the stopped vehicle.
28-793. Crossing at other than crosswalk
(a) A pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point
other than within a marked crosswalk or within an 		
unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield 		
the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway.
(b) A pedestrian crossing a roadway at a point where a
pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing
has been provided shall yield the right-of-way to all
vehicles on the roadway.
(c) Between adjacent intersections at which traffic
control signals are in operation, pedestrians shall
not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk.

Arizona Traffic Laws 39

28-794. Drivers to exercise due care
Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter every
driver of a vehicle shall:
1. Exercise due care to avoid colliding with any
pedestrian on any roadway.
2. Give warning by sounding the horn when
necessary.
3. Exercise proper precaution on observing a
child or a confused or incapacitated person on
a roadway.
28-795. Pedestrians to use right half of crosswalk
Pedestrians shall move expeditiously, when practicable,
on the right half of crosswalks.
28-796. Pedestrian on roadways
(a) If sidewalks are provided, a pedestrian shall not walk
along and on an adjacent roadway.
(b) If sidewalks are not provided, a pedestrian walking
along and on a highway shall walk when practicable
only on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder
facing traffic that may approach from the opposite
direction.
(c) A person shall not stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride from the driver of a vehicle.

40 Arizona Traffic Laws
28-856. Emerging from alley, driveway or building
The driver of a vehicle emerging from an alley, driveway
or building within a business or residence district shall:
1. Stop the vehicle immediately before driving onto
a sidewalk or onto the sidewalk area extending
across any alleyway or private driveway.
2. Yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian as
necessary to avoid collision.
3. On entering the roadway, yield the right-ofway to all closely approaching vehicles on the
roadway.
28-904. Driving on sidewalk
(a) A person shall not drive a vehicle on a sidewalk area
except on a permanent or duly authorized temporary
driveway.
(b) This section does not apply to a motorized wheelchair, electric personal assistive mobility device,
authorized emergency vehicle, security vehicle
owned by this state or small service vehicle owned
by this state or a political subdivision of this state.

Arizona Traffic Laws 41

28-908. Persons in wheelchairs or on electric
personal assistive mobility devices
A person operating a wheelchair or motorized wheelchair or an electric personal assistive mobility device
has all of the rights and duties that are contained in
this chapter and chapters 4 and 5 of this title and that
are applicable to pedestrians except provisions that by
their nature can have no application.

Useful Contact Information
Report roadway maintenance needs on State
highways to the appropriate ADOT District.
Contact information for each district is at:
www.azdot.gov/business/district-contacts
You can contact the ADOT Bicycle/Pedestrian
Coordinator at: azbikeped@azdot.gov

Notes and Numbers

Arizona Department of Transportation
Bicycle and Pedestrian Program

Mail Drop 310B
206 S. 17th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 712-8141

www.azbikeped.org

© 2014 Arizona Department of Transportation.
Created by the Pima County Bicycle and Pedestrian Program,
Matthew Zoll, Program Manager.
Design and illustration by David Burnham, Pima County Graphic Services