Bill > H3004

This bill allows individual cities and towns to decide whether to adopt new rules for pedestrian safety, specifically addressing jaywalking, which is crossing a street illegally. If a town votes to accept these provisions, pedestrians will be prohibited from crossing at intersections diagonally unless traffic signals permit it, and they must obey all official traffic control devices, meaning they cannot walk against a red light or cross outside of marked crosswalks between intersections with traffic signals. Violators will face escalating fines, starting at $25 for a first offense, and these penalties will double if the violation occurs while the person is using a mobile electronic device or wearing headphones or earbuds, which are devices used for listening to audio. The bill also makes a conforming change to another section of law regarding traffic violations to ensure consistent penalties.