Q: A pedestrian has the right-of-way in a crosswalk. Should a bicyclist dismount and walk his or her bike across to get the same benefit? Is a bicyclist considered a pedestrian when riding in a crosswalk? A: Minnesota State Statue 169.01 subdivision 24 defines a pedestrian as “any person afoot or in a wheelchair.” In Minnesota, drivers are required to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway at a marked crosswalk, or at any crosswalk at an intersection. Because Minnesota law recognizes a bicycle as a vehicle, a person riding a bicycle is required to obey the same traffic laws (as applicable) as a person driving a motor vehicle. This is why a bicyclist is required to ride in the same direction as other traffic, obey stop signs, etc. When the bicyclist dismounts the bicycle, that person becomes a pedestrian until resuming operation of the bicycle. Therefore, a bicyclist riding in a crosswalk is not provided the legal protections afforded to pedestrians. For that reason it is frequently safer for the bicyclist to dismount and walk the bicycle across the roadway at the crosswalk. On average, over the last 10 years in Minnesota, more than 1,000 bicyclists have been injured each year as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle. Common contributing factors for both bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers for these collisions are fail to yield right-of-way and driver inattention or distraction. For the bicyclists, two additional factors cited most often are disregarding a traffic control device and improper/unsafe lane usage.
