Indeed, the dozens of people blocking traffic for May Day protests were still pedestrians, protected by North Carolina law and also burdened with responsibility by the law. The incident happened Monday evening in the area of S. Mangum and West Pettigrew streets.
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RELATED: WATCH: Durham driver clashes with May Day protesters
May Day protests in the Triangle
The ABC11 I-Team reviewed the statutes, which state pedestrians are given right of way if they are following pedestrian signals, walking in a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk (the imaginary lines connecting two sidewalks across an intersection). The law then gets specific for people crossing at a point with no intersection:
RELATED: DURHAM PROTESTERS BLAME DRIVER, POLICE FOR TENSE INCIDENT
20-174. Crossing at other than crosswalks; walking along highway.
(a) Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.
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The viral video has provoked thousands of comments on ABC11's social media pages and gotten more than 1.5 million views as of Tuesday night.
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A spokeswoman for the Durham Police Department confirmed Tuesday that officers will not issue citations against the driver or any protesters as a result of Monday's incident.
RESOURCES:
- North Carolina Department of Transportation
- NCDOT guide for bikes and pedestrians
- Watch For Me NC
- What you need to know about NC crosswalks (.pdf)
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