Arizona jaywalking laws come mainly from ARS 28-793, which requires you to yield to all vehicles when you cross a road outside a crosswalk, and which flatly prohibits crossing between two adjacent signalized intersections unless you use a marked crosswalk. A handful of companion statutes fill in the rest: your duties at traffic signals, drivers’ duties toward you, and how fault gets split if you are hit while crossing illegally.
When Crossing Is Illegal
ARS 28-793 sets out three situations that cover most of what people mean by jaywalking:
- Crossing midblock. If you cross anywhere other than inside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, you must yield to every vehicle on the road.
- Ignoring a pedestrian tunnel or overpass. Where that infrastructure exists, you must yield to all vehicles even if you are at a crosswalk location.
- Crossing between two signalized intersections. When adjacent intersections both have working traffic signals, you cannot cross between them at all except in a marked crosswalk. An unmarked crosswalk will not satisfy this rule.
That third rule catches people off guard. In many parts of a city, two signals sit a block apart, and the only legal place to cross between them is a painted, marked crosswalk. If none exists, you need to walk to one of the intersections.
1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-793 – Crossing at Other Than CrosswalkWhat Counts as a Crosswalk in Arizona
A crosswalk under Arizona law includes two things: any portion of a roadway marked with painted lines or other surface markings for pedestrian crossing, and the area at an intersection formed by extending the sidewalk lines across the street. That second type is the “unmarked crosswalk,” and it exists at virtually every intersection where sidewalks are present, whether or not any paint is visible.
This matters because stepping off the curb at a standard intersection puts you legally inside a crosswalk even with no painted lines. Drivers are supposed to yield to you there. Move to the middle of the block, and that protection disappears.
2Arizona Department of Transportation. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-601 – DefinitionsWhen Drivers Must Yield to You
Inside a crosswalk, with no traffic signal controlling the intersection, drivers must yield. ARS 28-792 requires them to slow or stop for any pedestrian on the driver’s half of the roadway, or approaching from the other half closely enough to be in danger. If one car stops at a crosswalk for you, a driver coming up from behind cannot pass that stopped vehicle.
The statute cuts both ways. You cannot suddenly leave the curb and move into traffic when a vehicle is so close that the driver cannot reasonably stop. That restriction frequently comes up in disputed injury cases.
3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-792 – Right-of-Way at CrosswalkDrivers Still Owe You Care Even if You Jaywalk
Being in the wrong place does not strip you of protection. ARS 28-794 imposes a blanket duty on every driver to exercise due care to avoid hitting any pedestrian on any roadway. The language is deliberately broad and covers people crossing legally, people crossing illegally at midblock, and people walking along the shoulder. A driver who sees a pedestrian and makes no effort to avoid a collision does not get a free pass because the pedestrian was in the wrong place.
A driver who strikes a jaywalking pedestrian while speeding, texting, or otherwise distracted will almost certainly share fault for the crash regardless of where the pedestrian was crossing.
4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-794 – Drivers to Exercise Due CarePedestrian Rules at Traffic Signals
At intersections with working signals, your rights depend on the light and any pedestrian-specific indicator. Under ARS 28-645:
- On a green light, you may cross within any marked or unmarked crosswalk unless a separate pedestrian signal tells you otherwise. A green turn arrow alone does not give you the right to cross.
- On a steady yellow, you should not start crossing because there is not enough time to make it across before the light turns red.
- On a steady red, you may not enter the roadway at all unless a pedestrian control signal specifically permits it.
Where WALK and DON’T WALK indicators are installed, those signals override the general traffic light rules. A red hand means stop, even if the traffic light beside you is green in your direction.
5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-645 – Traffic Control Signal LegendFines for a Pedestrian Violation
Violating any of these pedestrian statutes is a civil traffic offense. There is no jail time, but you can receive a citation carrying a base fine plus mandatory surcharges set by the Arizona Supreme Court’s statewide penalty schedule. Total costs for a pedestrian signal violation run roughly $169 in many courts, with the exact figure depending on the specific statute and any local surcharges.
The paper trail matters more than the money. If you are later involved in an injury claim, the citation can be used as evidence that you were violating traffic law at the time of the accident, which directly feeds into how fault gets allocated.
Getting Hit While Jaywalking
Arizona follows a pure comparative fault system under ARS 12-2505. If you are hit while jaywalking and file an injury claim, the jury assigns a percentage of fault to you and to the driver, and your damages are reduced by your share. Your claim is not barred, no matter how large that share is. The only exception is injury you intentionally or recklessly caused yourself; ordinary negligence, which is what jaywalking almost always is, keeps the claim alive.
6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 12-2505 – Comparative NegligenceThis is where the due care rule in ARS 28-794 does real work. A driver who was speeding, distracted, impaired, or who ran a red light carries meaningful responsibility even when the pedestrian crossed illegally. Courts look at whether the driver had time to see the pedestrian and react, whether lighting and visibility were adequate, and whether the driver was paying attention. A jaywalker on a well-lit residential street who is hit by a texting driver will carry far less fault than someone who crosses a freeway at night.
4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-794 – Drivers to Exercise Due CareCities Can Impose Stricter Rules
ARS 28-791 allows cities and towns to adopt pedestrian rules tougher than the state baseline. A local government can require pedestrians to obey traffic signals strictly, and it can prohibit crossing outside a crosswalk entirely in business districts or along designated highways. Tucson maintains its own pedestrian code sections covering signal obedience and prohibited crossings, and other municipalities around the state have similar local rules.
7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-791 – Pedestrians Subject to Traffic RulesIf you walk regularly in a particular city’s downtown or business district, check for additional restrictions. A crossing that would be legal under state law, by yielding to traffic midblock on a non-signalized stretch, may be prohibited under local ordinance in a busy commercial area.