HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - New laws hit the books on Friday, Oct. 1, and one of them changes the rules of the crosswalk to the advantage, lawmakers hope, of pedestrians.
Pedestrians are no longer just legally protected when they are physically in a crosswalk that's not controlled by traffic signals or police officers. Drivers must now stop when a pedestrian signals an intention to cross from the curb.
"It adds the protection of the pedestrian no longer has to step into the crosswalk," Amy Watkins of Watch for Me CT said, which is based at Connecticut Children's, "to get actually into the danger zone and maybe have to step back... This allows people to just stay in a safe place and wave and hopefully help that communication with the drivers."
The new law also makes "dooring" illegal. According to CTDOT, "This new law prohibits a person from causing physical contact between a vehicle door and moving traffic by (1) opening the door, if the moving traffic is traveling at a reasonable speed with due regard for the safety of people and property, or (2) leaving it open longer than needed to load or unload passengers."
The "dooring" measure will be of particular interest to bicyclists, since they frequently pass cars which are parallel parked.
