By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Steiner Ranch resident Tony Korman and his wife walk 5 ½ miles along Quinlan Park Road four or five days a week. While he enjoys the exercise, Korman said he has become increasingly frustrated by drivers who refuse to let him and his wife cross the street.

Korman said they have nearly been hit on multiple occasions by cars who refuse to stop while they are crossing the street in the crosswalk.

“People do not stop at that crosswalk,” Korman said. “I’m tired of it.”

The couple has lived in Steiner Ranch for five years and Korman said he’s noticed the problem getting worse.

“It’s insane,” he said. “I’ve had people flip me off because I’m in the crosswalk.”

Danielle Deuillet said she’s also seen the problem get worse over the eight years she has lived in Steiner Ranch. She said while she was stopped at a crosswalk so a young boy could cross, a car came up behind her and sped around her, narrowly missing the boy.

“I was completely speechless that this woman had absolutely no care at all for how reckless that was,” Deuillet said.

She said she often takes photos and writes down the license plate numbers of speeding vehicles. She noticed it’s often the same vehicles that are speeding.

“People need to realize it’s not always just about them, where they need to be, the text they need send,” Deuillet said. “Everyone moves to Steiner Ranch because of the awesome place it is to raise a family, and all the outdoor activities we get to enjoy, and yet those are the two things most at risk -because of the ridiculousness of speeding or texting while driving.”

The law

Failing to yield for pedestrians at a crosswalk is a crime, according to Section 552.003 of the Transportation Code. The law also says that a vehicle may not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to allow pedestrians to cross the roadway.

Roger Wade with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office said the code specifically states that if it is shown at trial that if a collision occurs at a crosswalk causing serious bodily injury or death to a visually impaired or disabled person, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500 and 30 hours of community service.

“There may also be other charges that can be filed if someone is seriously hurt or killed while a person fails to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, like vehicular assault or vehicular manslaughter,” Wade said.

Pedestrians must also exercise caution even when crossing in a crosswalk. Wade said the law goes on to say that “a pedestrian may not suddenly leave the curb or other place of safety and proceed into a crosswalk in the path of a vehicle so close that it is impossible for the vehicle operator to yield.”

“It is imperative that pedestrians, and drivers alike, be safe and watch out for each other,” Wade said. “It is not worth the pain and suffering of knowing that you hurt someone because you couldn’t spare a few seconds to allow that person to walk across the road safely in a crosswalk. It is also not worth the pain and suffering of stepping out in front of traffic because you believe you have the right of way.”

Local suggestions

Deuillet said she often tells her children to use extra caution when crossing the street.

“I tell my kids if the driver is not looking right at them and waving them to cross, don’t chance it,” she said.

Both she and Korman feel the current speed limit is too high.

“45 mph is a joke,” Korman said.

He said he’d like to see more patrols by law enforcement.

“The only way people are going to start paying attention is if they see the police and start getting tickets,” Korman said. “Someone is going to get hit or killed.”