The jaywalking law changed. What it means for a pedestrian claim.
California's Freedom to Walk Act, in force since 2023, stopped police issuing citations for crossing outside a crosswalk unless there is an immediate danger of collision. That is a change to tickets, not to civil fault — but it quietly removed the document insurers used to rely on.
What actually changed
Before, an officer attending a pedestrian collision could cite the pedestrian for crossing outside a crosswalk. That citation then appeared in the claim file and was waved at the injured person as proof they caused their own injury.
Now, a citation may generally only be issued where a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision. Crossing an empty street mid-block is no longer a ticket.
The civil rules on fault did not change. A pedestrian still has a duty of due care, and crossing outside a crosswalk away from an intersection can still support a comparative fault argument. What has gone is the automatic piece of paper that made that argument look conclusive.
The rule people still do not know
At most intersections a crosswalk exists in law across each approach whether or not anyone has painted lines on the road. An enormous number of pedestrians struck at a corner with no paint are told they were jaywalking, and a great many of them were not.
This single point probably changes the outcome of more pedestrian claims than anything else in California traffic law, and it is almost never explained to the injured person.
And the duty that never goes away
Even where a pedestrian was genuinely in the wrong place, the driver's duty of due care persists. A driver who could have seen someone plainly in the road, with time to react, does not escape responsibility because the pedestrian made a mistake first.
California's pure comparative fault rule then divides responsibility rather than extinguishing the claim. A pedestrian found 40% at fault recovers 60% — which, in the serious injuries these collisions produce, is rarely a trivial sum.
Questions people ask
I was crossing outside a crosswalk. Can I still claim?
Often yes. At an intersection a crosswalk usually exists in law whether or not it is painted. Away from an intersection it may support a comparative fault argument, which reduces rather than bars recovery, and the driver's duty to keep a proper lookout still applies.
Does the Freedom to Walk Act mean I cannot be blamed at all?
No. It changed when a citation may be issued, not the civil law of fault. A pedestrian still owes a duty of due care. What it removed is the automatic ticket that insurers used to treat as conclusive.
Related
Reviewed October 2026 by Simon Aziz Budhwani, Esq., the attorney responsible for this site. Legal statements here name the California code section they rely on, so you can check them rather than trust them. This is information about the law in general, not advice about your situation.
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