Taylor, TX Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Taylor's pedestrian rules distinguish sharply between crossing inside a crosswalk and crossing anywhere else. Section 17-240(b) flatly forbids crossing a roadway other than in a marked crosswalk within a business district, and subsection (a) requires pedestrians to use only a marked crosswalk between adjacent signalized intersections. Outside a business district, or where no marked crosswalk exists, Section 17-243 governs: a pedestrian crossing at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield the right-of-way to every vehicle on the roadway, effectively shifting the duty to avoid a collision onto the person crossing rather than the driver.

The same yield duty applies under subsection (b) even where the city has built a pedestrian tunnel or overhead crossing; a pedestrian who crosses at street level instead of using the structure still must yield to traffic. Section 17-241 works in the other direction, requiring drivers to yield to a pedestrian who is properly inside a crosswalk, but subsection (b) of that section makes clear a pedestrian cannot suddenly leave a curb and walk into a vehicle's path when it is too close for the driver to stop.

Section 17-242 adds that a pedestrian may not cross an intersection diagonally unless a traffic-control device specifically authorizes it. Section 17-247 still requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid hitting a pedestrian regardless of where the crossing occurs, so an at-fault pedestrian does not relieve a driver of the general duty of care.