Doing a daily walk routine, I have encountered several close calls from motorists who haven’t a clue that they are to yield to me and other pedestrians in crosswalks.

Crosswalks are a concern in many communities. One of the latest is Lehighton, which recently decided to move an existing crosswalk at busy Bankway and Bridge Street.

Borough council is looking to replace it with a midblock crossing at Bankway and First Street and Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard.

Those of us who walk the streets and roads of our communities have harrowing anecdotes to tell of unthinking or ignorant motorists, but, let’s face it: When we reverse roles and become motorists, are we as concerned about crosswalk etiquette?

I did an unscientific survey of 25 motorists from four counties in our area (Carbon, Schuylkill, Northampton and Monroe) to find out whether they are knowledgeable about the state’s crosswalk laws. None of them answered all five of my questions correctly, and fewer than three-quarters answered even two correctly.

The general rule for motorists based on Pennsylvania Act 75 is this: When traffic-control signals are not in place or not operating, the driver must yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing at any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.

Don’t think, however, that pedestrians always have the right of way. They must yield the right of way to vehicles when crossing in the middle of the road that is not crosswalk protected.

Some motorists that I questioned believed that by law a driver must wait for the pedestrian to finish crossing the entire crosswalk before proceeding. Not true. So long as it is safe to proceed after the pedestrian has passed, the motorist can move on.

The motorist is not obligated to stop if the pedestrian has not stepped into the crosswalk. The pedestrian, however, gets the benefit of a tie.

Some fellow pedestrians are reckless in their demand that motorists respect their rights, so much so that they will put themselves in harm’s way as a self-proclaimed matter of principle when a motorist disobeys the rules.

I take a much more practical approach. I do not plan to announce from my hospital bed, where I am recovering from broken bones, that “I was right, and that driver was wrong.”

Most major intersections have crosswalks. Although crosswalks are typically located at intersections, they also are sometimes found in the middle of a block, such as Lehighton Borough Council is contemplating.

When we were young, we were told repeatedly that we must look both ways before crossing a street. That’s still good advice, but it should be paired with: Use a crosswalk whenever possible.

Regardless of whether you are a motorist or a pedestrian, caution should be your guide. A motorist should always be on guard for the pedestrian doing the unexpected, and a pedestrian should never assume that a motorist knows the crosswalk laws and should always expect the unexpected when crossing a crosswalk-guarded street or road.

The National Safety Council gives these tips to motorists to avoid hitting pedestrians: Always brake for a pedestrian; stop before you enter a crosswalk; if a pedestrian makes eye contact with you while crossing, allow the pedestrian to pass even if the pedestrian is not in a designated crosswalk; older people, the disabled and young children require more time to cross streets and roads (tell me about it), so don’t become impatient, and do not pass any vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.

In Pennsylvania, on average, there are 4,200 pedestrian accidents a year which result in an average of 165 deaths, according to statistics from the state Department of Health.

The current crosswalk law has been in effect for 20 years. Reflective of this, the fine is only $50 plus court costs. Perhaps it’s time to up the ante - maybe double or triple the fine.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.