Warwick, RI Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Section 76-51 puts the right-of-way burden on the pedestrian: anyone crossing a roadway at a point other than within a marked crosswalk, or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway. The next section, 76-52, applies the same yield rule where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead crossing has been built, meaning a pedestrian who bypasses that structure and crosses at street level must yield to traffic. Section 76-53 goes further between adjacent signalized intersections: pedestrians there cannot cross anywhere except in a marked crosswalk at all, not merely yield.

Section 76-54 requires pedestrians to use the right half of a crosswalk whenever practicable, and section 76-55 separately makes it unlawful for a pedestrian to walk along and upon a roadway where a sidewalk has been provided. Together these sections form Warwick's version of a jaywalking rule: outside a marked/unmarked crosswalk it's a yield obligation, but between signal-controlled intersections mid-block crossing is barred outright, and using the roadway instead of an available sidewalk is a separate violation. These provisions trace to Code 1971 §§ 22-47 through 22-51 and remain part of the traffic chapter's pedestrian article.