Pudmaroff v. Allen

951 P.2d 335, 89 Wash. App. 928, 1998 Wash. App. LEXIS 251
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 17, 1998
DocketNo. 38800-2-I
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 951 P.2d 335 (Pudmaroff v. Allen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pudmaroff v. Allen, 951 P.2d 335, 89 Wash. App. 928, 1998 Wash. App. LEXIS 251 (Wash. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

Ellington, J.

This case requires us to decide what protections apply to a bicyclist using a crosswalk. The user of a crosswalk ordinarily has the right-of-way. We hold that the fact Richard Pudmaroff was on a bicycle rather than on foot does not deprive him of the right of way.

Facts

Richard Pudmaroff was bicycling south on the interurban bicycle trail in Kent, Washington. The trail intersects 277th Avenue at a marked crosswalk, for which approaching motorists are required to yield by a crosswalk yield sign. Users of the trail approaching the crosswalk encounter a stop sign.

When Pudmaroff arrived at the intersection, he stopped and waited for traffic. A car in the westbound lane, the lane closest to Pudmaroff, stopped and waited for him to cross. In the eastbound lane, he saw a vehicle that was “a good distance away,” so he mounted his bike and started to cross. Before he reached the other side, he heard the screeching of brakes and was struck by Leona Allen’s vehicle.

Allen testified that as she approached the crosswalk in the eastbound lane, she was slowing down for railroad tracks on the other side of the crosswalk. Her vision of Plaintiff was obscured by a westbound vehicle.

The trial court granted Pudmaroff summary judgment [931]*931on liability, ruling that Allen was negligent as a matter of law and that there was no evidence Pudmaroff was comparatively negligent. The parties then litigated damages.

Crosswalk Protection

In Crawford v Miller,1 this court held that bicyclists traveling in crosswalks were entitled to the same protections bestowed upon pedestrians. Pointing out that the Legislature has since revised the definition of pedestrian to exclude bicyclists,2 and has revised the definition of vehicle to include bicycles,3 Allen asks us to abandon the Crawford rule and hold that she had no duty to Pudmaroff arising from his presence in the marked crosswalk.

Crawford involved a child riding her bicycle. She dismounted at the curb, and waited for traffic at an intersection. A truck stopped for her, and she pushed her bicycle into the unmarked crosswalk, then began to ride across the intersection. Defendant drove around the stopped truck in the inside lane, striking the child. The court held that although bicyclists riding upon roadways4 are obligated to adhere to all duties applicable to motor vehicle drivers,5 a bicyclist in a crosswalk is not in a [932]*932“roadway.”6 Since a crosswalk was, and still is, defined as a “portion of the roadway,”7 the Crawford court’s holding reflects an implicit determination that a crosswalk is not a roadway for purposes of RCW 46.61.755, which requires bicyclists on a roadway to observe the rules for vehicles. Instead, the Crawford court found that whether the crosswalk user was on a bicycle was relevant only as to whether the bicyclist exhibited “ordinary care for her own safety.”8 The court held that the child was entitled to the protections afforded a pedestrian:

[The automobile driver] was governed by RCW 46.61.235(4), which reads: “Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.”[9]

When Crawford was decided, “pedestrian” was defined simply to mean “any person afoot.”10 Approximately 13 years later, the definition of “pedestrian” was expanded to include individuals using wheelchairs or human-powered conveyances “other than bicycles.”11 Also, when Crawford was decided, “roadway” was (and still is) defined as “for vehicular travel.”12 “Vehicle” was then defined to exclude [933]*933bicycles. In 1991, the vehicle definition was amended to include bicycles.13

The question then is whether the Legislature’s amendment of these two definitions indicates the Legislature intended to change the Crawford rule, and treat a bicyclist in a crosswalk the same as a bicyclist on any other portion of the roadway—that is, entitled to none of the usual protections of the crosswalk.

The Legislature is presumed to be familiar with judicial interpretations of statutes. Unless there is an indication the Legislature intended to overrule a particular interpretation, amendments are presumed to be consistent with previous interpretations.14 We must construe the statute in a manner that avoids absurd results.15

We first note that the Legislature made no change to the principal statute construed in Crawford, RCW 46.61.755. We note also that the expansion of the definition of pedestrians to include human-powered conveyances “other than bicycles” does not indicate a legislative intent to change the law as to bicycles; bicyclists were not within the definition of pedestrian before the amendment. Nor does amendment of the “vehicle” definition to include bicycles change the rights and duties of bicyclists. Since 1965, RCW 46.61.755 has subjected bicyclists using a roadway to the rights and duties of vehicle drivers. But bicyclists are widely permitted to travel on sidewalks,16 and presumably must use crosswalks at intersections. Obviously here, the marked crosswalk was intended for users of the bike trail. The rules of the road cannot logically apply in crosswalks, nor [934]*934does it make sense to permit use of a crosswalk by bicyclists and yet require them to yield to motorists as if in a vehicle.

Indeed, the intent of the amendments appears to be to increase protection of certain crosswalk users not previously defined as pedestrians because they were not “afoot.”17 There is nothing in the legislative history implicating the arguments raised here. The amendments do not confront the Crawford issue: When a bicyclist is lawfully in a crosswalk, what is the duty of the motorist?

Our case law evidences the strong level of protection afforded to those traveling in a marked crosswalk. For example, in Shasky v. Burden,18 the protection was described as “exceedingly strong.” The rationale for this is simple. Those traveling in a crosswalk rely on their favored status to cross safely.

Common sense dictates that bicyclists be included in those protections. Otherwise, a driver’s duty to yield to those in a crosswalk would depend on the type of crosswalk user, resulting in dangerous confusion for motorists and crosswalk users alike.

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Related

Monica Anderson v. Estate of Mary D. Wood
198 A.3d 926 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2018)
Pudmaroff v. Allen
138 Wash. 2d 55 (Washington Supreme Court, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
951 P.2d 335, 89 Wash. App. 928, 1998 Wash. App. LEXIS 251, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pudmaroff-v-allen-washctapp-1998.