Virginia Crosswalk Law: Driver Duties, Fines, and Pedestrian Rights

Virginia crosswalk law requires drivers to come to a complete stop — not merely slow down — for any pedestrian who is in their lane or in an adjacent lane and moving toward their lane. The rule lives in Virginia Code § 46.2-924 and applies at marked crosswalks, at unmarked crossings where a sidewalk would extend across the road, and at any intersection on a road posted at 35 mph or less. A standard violation costs $81. If a pedestrian is seriously injured or killed, the same conduct becomes a Class 1 misdemeanor.¹

Stop, Don’t Yield

The statute uses the word “stop.” Rolling through a crosswalk while a pedestrian is in it does not satisfy the law. A driver must remain stationary until the pedestrian has cleared the lane the vehicle occupies.¹

You do not have to wait until the pedestrian reaches the far sidewalk. Once they have passed your lane and are no longer approaching it, you can proceed. Keep an eye out for anyone entering from the opposite direction.

Where a traffic signal or a law enforcement officer is directing traffic, their directions control. But drivers turning at an intersection must always yield to pedestrians crossing the road they are turning into, no matter what the signal says.¹

Where the Stopping Duty Applies

This is where drivers get the law wrong. The 35 mph threshold only governs one of three situations:

Marked crosswalks. Any crosswalk with painted lines, whether at an intersection or midblock. No speed limit restriction. If the road is marked, you stop.
Unmarked crossings at block ends. Where a sidewalk would logically extend across the road at the end of a block, a legal crossing exists even without paint. The statute calls this the “prolongation of the lateral boundary lines of the adjacent sidewalk.” No speed limit restriction here either.
Any intersection on a 35 mph or slower road. Even without a marked crosswalk or a sidewalk running up to it, drivers must stop for pedestrians crossing at the intersection.

On a 25 mph residential street, every intersection is a legal crossing point. On a 45 mph arterial with no paint and no sidewalk extension, the specific stopping duty in § 46.2-924 does not apply, though general duties of care still do.¹

Don’t Pass a Vehicle Stopped for a Pedestrian

Subsection B of § 46.2-924 makes it illegal to overtake and pass a vehicle that has stopped for a pedestrian. If the car in the lane next to you is stopped at a crosswalk, you cannot go around it. The rule exists because passing creates the worst-case scenario: a driver accelerates past a stopped vehicle and strikes a person they never saw.¹

What the Law Requires of Pedestrians

Virginia does not treat pedestrians as passive beneficiaries of these protections. Under § 46.2-923, people on foot must cross at intersections or marked crosswalks where possible and may not carelessly interfere with traffic. Crossing between intersections is not automatically illegal, but the pedestrian must take the most direct route.²

Section 46.2-924 itself bars any pedestrian from entering or crossing an intersection “in disregard of approaching traffic.” You cannot step into the road so suddenly that a driver has no chance to react. Pedestrians must also respect walk and don’t-walk signals where they exist.¹

Section 46.2-926 adds a separate rule: a pedestrian cannot step into the road between intersections from behind a parked car or other obstruction that would hide them from drivers. The exception is boarding a bus or entering a safety zone, and even then the pedestrian must cross at a right angle.²

Heightened Protection for Blind and Visually Impaired Pedestrians

Under § 46.2-933, any driver approaching an intersection or crossing where a pedestrian is carrying a white cane (predominantly metallic or white, with or without a red tip) or being guided by a guide dog must come to a full stop. This applies even where the crossing is not marked, so long as no signal or officer is already controlling it.³

The penalty is a Class 3 misdemeanor — a criminal charge, not a traffic ticket — and 3 demerit points on the driver’s record.³⁴

A blind pedestrian who chooses not to use a cane or guide dog keeps all the rights of any other pedestrian. Section 46.2-934 states that the absence of a cane or guide dog cannot be used as evidence of contributory negligence in a civil case.²

Fines, Points, and Criminal Charges

Standard Violation

A basic failure to stop is a traffic infraction. Under Virginia’s Uniform Fine Schedule, the fine is $30 plus a $51 processing fee, for a total of $81.⁵ The conviction adds 3 demerit points to your Virginia record and stays there for three years.⁴

Several Northern Virginia localities — Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, the City of Alexandria, and the City of Falls Church — may install signs at marked crosswalks that specifically require drivers to stop or yield. Violating one of those posted signs carries a fine of $100 to $500.¹

Serious Injury or Death

If a crosswalk violation causes serious bodily injury or death to a “vulnerable road user” who was lawfully crossing, the charge jumps from a traffic infraction to a Class 1 misdemeanor. Vulnerable road users include pedestrians, cyclists, and others outside of motor vehicles; the full definition is in § 46.2-816.1. A Class 1 misdemeanor carries up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.¹

Contributory Negligence Changes Everything

Virginia is one of the few states that still follows pure contributory negligence. A pedestrian found even partially at fault for a crash is completely barred from recovering damages in a civil lawsuit. There is no partial recovery based on percentages. That makes the pedestrian duty rules above far more than theoretical. A pedestrian who darts into traffic, crosses against a signal, or steps out from behind a parked car between intersections may lose the right to any compensation, even if the driver was the more negligent party.

The reverse is also true. A pedestrian struck while lawfully in a crosswalk carries a strong inference that the driver was at fault. Staying in a crosswalk or lawfully crossing at an intersection is the single most important thing a pedestrian can do to protect both their physical safety and their legal position.

Section 46.2-923 adds that crossing at an unmarked intersection or between intersections by the most direct route is “not negligence as a matter of law.” A pedestrian who crosses between intersections is not automatically contributorily negligent, though the specific facts still decide whether they acted reasonably.²

Shared-Use Paths

Where a shared-use trail crosses a highway at a marked crosswalk without a traffic signal, § 46.2-924(E) lets local governments pass an ordinance requiring everyone on the path — pedestrians and cyclists alike — to come to a complete stop before entering the crosswalk. Violating such a local ordinance carries a fine of up to $100.¹

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-924 – Drivers to Stop for Pedestrians; Installation of Certain Signs
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code – Article 16 Pedestrians
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-933 – When Vehicles to Stop for Pedestrian Guided by Dog or Carrying White Cane
4
Virginia DMV. Virginia DMV Point System Schedule
5
Virginia Courts. Uniform Fine Schedule