Texas Legal Glossary · Personal Injury

Pedestrian Right-of-Way

Written and reviewed by Shane M. Boasberg, founder of SMB Law, PC · Licensed in Texas since 2003 · Updated October 2026

Definition: Pedestrian right-of-way is a pedestrian's legal priority over vehicles when crossing a road. Under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 552, a driver must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk, while a pedestrian crossing anywhere else must yield to vehicles.

Also called: crosswalk law, unmarked crosswalk rule, failure to yield to a pedestrian

What pedestrian right-of-way means in Texas

Right-of-way is the legal right of one road user to go first when two of them could collide. For people on foot, Texas sets the rules in Chapter 552 of the Transportation Code, and most of them turn on one question: was the pedestrian in a crosswalk?

A crosswalk does not have to be painted. Section 541.302 defines two kinds. A marked crosswalk is any part of the road designated for crossing by lines or other surface markings, including mid-block. An unmarked crosswalk is the part of an intersection that connects the sidewalks on opposite sides of the street, measured from the curbs. Drivers owe the same duty at both.

The rules at a glance

• Walk signal: a pedestrian facing Walk may cross, and drivers must stop and yield (§ 552.002). A pedestrian may not start across on Don't Walk or Wait.
• No signal: a driver must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk who is on the driver's half of the road or approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger (§ 552.003(a)).
• No darting out: a pedestrian may not leave the curb so close to a vehicle that the driver cannot stop (§ 552.003(b)).
• No passing a stopped car: a driver may not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to let someone cross (§ 552.003(c)).
• Crossing elsewhere: outside a crosswalk, the pedestrian must yield to vehicles, and between two adjacent signalized intersections a pedestrian may cross only in a marked crosswalk (§ 552.005).
• Sidewalks and driveways: pedestrians use the sidewalk when one is available, otherwise walk facing traffic, and drivers leaving a driveway or alley must stop and yield to people on the sidewalk (§ 552.006).
• Due care always: notwithstanding every other rule, a driver must exercise due care to avoid hitting a pedestrian, sound the horn when necessary, and take extra care around children and confused or incapacitated people (§ 552.008).

The current text requires drivers to stop and yield, not merely yield. In 2025 the Legislature extended the same crosswalk protection to sidewalk users such as people on bicycles, scooters, and skateboards riding on the sidewalk, who must enter a crosswalk at a reasonable speed (§ 552.0035).

Why it matters in your case

In a pedestrian injury claim, a driver who failed to stop and yield in a crosswalk has usually breached the duty of care the statute sets, which is strong evidence of negligence. The insurer's first move is often to place the pedestrian outside a crosswalk, because that shifts the duty to yield.

Losing the right-of-way does not end the claim. Section 552.008 still requires the driver to use due care, and Texas proportionate responsibility only bars recovery if the injured person is more than 50 percent at fault. A pedestrian found 20 percent responsible recovers 80 percent of the damages. Whether an intersection had an unmarked crosswalk is often the fact that moves that percentage.

Example

Dana crosses a residential street in East Austin at a corner with no paint on the pavement, walking from the sidewalk ramp to the ramp directly across the street. A driver turning right strikes her. The adjuster says she was jaywalking. She was not: the path between those two sidewalks is an unmarked crosswalk under § 541.302, so § 552.003 required the driver to stop and yield.

This entry explains Texas law in general terms and is not legal advice for any specific situation. Statutes and case law change; the date above reflects the last review.