I was driving to Beverly Hills for an educational seminar, when I observed situations at several intersections that concerned me and got me to thinking about a blog topic. What did I see? I observed pedestrians crossing several busy intersections with and without traffic control devices. Why was this so interesting? It was because as I was watching these individuals cross the intersections, there were many drivers who disregarded their presence in the crosswalk and proceeded through the crosswalk without any apparent concern for the safety of the pedestrian. Frankly, I was stunned and so were the pedestrians. Some shook their heads in disbelief while others took a step back. I’m sure their hearts were pounding due to their near miss. Pedestrians in crosswalks have the right of way. Drivers, when they see pedestrians in the crosswalk must exercise all due care for the safety of the pedestrian before proceeding through the intersection. Even if they don’t see the pedestrian, and they unsafely proceed through the intersection they are in violation of the code. These are written rules of the road found in Vehicle Code section 21950. Here are two unwritten rules to follow: 1. Pedestrians, don’t assume you are visible to drivers and that they see you. 2. Drivers, remain hyper-vigilant when approaching an intersection. By way of example, I represent a young man who was crossing an intersection appropriately on a green light and with the go hand signal shining brightly. He had crossed two-thirds of the intersection when a car, with a fogged up windshield, made a left turn over the crosswalk hitting my client and knocking him out of the intersection and to the ground. He suffered serious injuries from which he will never fully recover. The driver has to live with the fact the he hit this man and left him permanently injured. There will never enough money to compensate him for his losses. Pedestrians and drivers need to be save and alert at all times to avoid serious and life altering tragedies. If you have had pedestrian verses vehicle incidences, share your story in the comments so we can all learn the dangers and how to be safer in the future.