To the residents of Peachtree City and surrounding areas, do any of you know what the Georgia law is concerning pedestrians in a crosswalk?
The law states: “Drivers must ‘stop and stay stopped’ for pedestrians, not just yield to them.”
Many of us work on Ga. Highway 54 near the Chase Bank. Because of the various restaurants in our area, we are asked to park in the Office Depot parking lot and walk across the street (the road that goes into Walmart). We each walk across that street at least twice a day, many times four times a day.
Each time we are all putting our lives in jeopardy. We’ve had drivers speed past us, get angry with us because we’re crossing the road, even yelling out their car windows at us, if they are behind a driver who does stop, almost hit them, or attempt to go around them and almost hit us. They’ve gone as far as to try and intimidate us by driving right up to us and then stopping only a few feet away.
There are signs posted on both sides of the road telling you it’s state law. So if you don’t know the law, please know it now. You must stop to anyone in a crosswalk, any part of that crosswalk.
A pedestrian should not be forced to stop in the middle of the road in the hopes someone will stop. If you do not stop, you can be ticketed. And, if you hit a pedestrian, you will be held accountable for it.
Try a little consideration. Is it really going to disrupt your day if you have to stop for that 30 seconds while we cross the street? We’re just trying to get to our jobs, or back home, without fear of losing our lives.
Debbie Pitts
Peachtree City, Ga.
