Quick answer: A failure-to-stop-for-a-pedestrian charge under Md. Code, Transp. § 21-502(a)(2) is a payable citation — an $80 preset fine and 1 point. If the State alleges the violation contributed to an accident, the citation becomes must-appear, the conviction carries 3 points, and § 21-502(e) authorizes up to 2 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The charge has real elements, and at a signalized intersection subsection (a) does not apply at all.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve defended thousands of Maryland traffic charges in District Courts statewide. This page covers what happens to you once the citation is written. For the statute explained from the ground up, read failing to stop for a pedestrian in Maryland.
What the State Actually Has to Prove
This is not a judgment call about whether you drove carefully — it is an element test, and three phrases decide cases.
“The driver of a vehicle shall come to a stop when a pedestrian crossing the roadway in a crosswalk is: (i) On the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling; or (ii) Approaching from an adjacent lane on the other half of the roadway.” — Md. Code, Transp. § 21-502(a)(2)
The duty is to come to a stop — not to slow down, not to yield. Officers and drivers both say “yield,” and it is the wrong word. Easing past behind a pedestrian without ever stopping violates the section even if nobody was endangered — and conversely, the State cannot rescue a weak case by arguing you drove unreasonably.
The pedestrian must have been in a crosswalk. Under Transp. § 21-101(i) that means the extension of the sidewalk lines where two or more roadways meet or join, or any part of the roadway “distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings.” An unmarked corner at an intersection counts. Someone crossing mid-block with no markings does not — that is a § 21-503 situation, where the pedestrian owes the duty to yield.
The pedestrian must have been on your half of the road or approaching from the adjacent lane. A person stepping off the far curb of a wide multi-lane road, three lanes away, has not triggered the duty yet. Where they stood at the moment you passed is a question of fact, and frequently the whole case.
The Exception Most Drivers Never Hear About
Subsection (a)(1) switches the stopping duty off entirely in two situations: where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead crossing is provided, and — far more commonly — where a traffic control signal is in operation.
Many of these citations are written at signalized intersections, usually after a right turn on red or a permissive left across a crosswalk. If a working signal governed that intersection, subsection (a) did not apply and the charge should not stand. The State’s usual answer is to recharge the conduct as failure to obey the signal, so the work is comparing the citation to the intersection. It is the first thing I check on any crosswalk case.
Subsection (b) supplies a second argument: a pedestrian “may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.” If they stepped out with no stopping distance left, the person who broke the law was not you.
Penalties Turn Entirely on Whether There Was an Accident
| Charge | Preset fine | Points | Jailable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| § 21-502(a)(2) — failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk | $80 (payable) | 1 | No |
| § 21-502(c) — passing a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian at a crosswalk | $80 (payable) | 1 | No |
| Either violation, contributing to an accident (§ 21-502(d)) | Must appear | 3 | Yes — up to 2 months and/or $1,000 under § 21-502(e) |
| § 21-502(b) — pedestrian crossing unsafely into a vehicle’s path | $50 (payable) | 0 | No |
Preset fines and points come from the District Court’s fine schedule; jail exposure comes from the statute. “Must appear” means no prepayment and a summons in the mail. Note too that “contributed to an accident” is a separate element under subsection (d), not an automatic add-on — a collision that happened for an unrelated reason does not turn a 1-point ticket into a jailable charge just because it occurred near a crosswalk.
“It’s only $80 — I’ll just pay it.” Paying a preset Maryland fine is a guilty plea. It creates a conviction on your driving record, sends the point to the MVA, and forecloses probation before judgment under Crim. Proc. § 6-220, which would have kept both off your record. Requesting a waiver hearing or a trial instead keeps that door open, and it carries a real trade-off you should weigh: at either hearing the judge can increase your fine, up to a maximum of $500. On an $80 ticket that is usually a risk worth taking, and it should be a decision you make deliberately rather than by mailing a check.
What It Does to Your License and Insurance
One point rarely moves the needle alone. The problem is accumulation: under Maryland’s point system points stack, and 3 points from an accident-related conviction puts you near the thresholds where the MVA sends a warning letter or requires the Driver Improvement Program.
Insurers rate the conviction, not the ticket, and a pedestrian-related moving violation reads badly in underwriting; commercial drivers face a sharper version — see how traffic tickets affect a Maryland CDL. What solves most of this is probation before judgment: a PBJ is not a conviction, so no points are assessed and nothing exists for an insurer to rate. It carries conditions — a PBJ does mean you are on probation — but on a first crosswalk charge it is frequently the right ask.
What the Process Looks Like
Check the box on your citation first. If the officer marked it payable, you have 30 days to pay, request a payment plan, request a waiver hearing, or request a trial. If he did not — which is what happens when an accident is alleged — the court mails you a summons. The split is explained at payable vs. must-appear tickets in Maryland.
At trial the officer testifies to a brief observation from a fixed angle, sometimes from a pedestrian-safety detail where a plainclothes decoy crosses repeatedly. Those details also produce cases where the decoy stepped out with no stopping distance left — exactly the subsection (b) argument. Dash camera and business security video decide more of these than testimony does, and it overwrites fast — preserve it in week one.
If Someone Was Hurt, Two Cases Are Running at Once
A guilty plea or conviction under § 21-502 hands the pedestrian’s attorney a safety-statute violation to build a negligence claim on — one more reason not to dispose of the charge quickly and quietly. Prosecutors also stack counts here: expect negligent driving, failure to obey a traffic control device, or on bad facts reckless driving charged alongside it. Handle them as one strategy. If you were the pedestrian rather than the driver, the Maryland personal injury side of the firm handles that claim.
Where I Handle These Cases
Crosswalk enforcement concentrates in the Washington and Baltimore suburbs. I appear regularly in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, Howard County and Frederick County, and take Maryland traffic violation cases statewide. Bring me the citation, the location and any video, and I will tell you in one conversation whether the elements are there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as no accident is alleged. The District Court preset fine for Transportation Section 21-502(a)(2) is $80 and a conviction carries 1 point. If the violation is charged as contributing to an accident, the citation is must-appear and cannot be prepaid. Remember that paying a preset fine is a guilty plea and creates a conviction on your driving record.
Only if the violation contributed to an accident. Transportation Section 21-502(d) makes it a separate offense to commit the violation in a way that contributes to an accident, and Section 21-502(e) allows imprisonment of up to 2 months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A crosswalk violation with no accident is not jailable.
No. Transportation Section 21-502(a)(1) states that the stopping duty in subsection (a) does not apply where a traffic control signal is in operation, or where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead crossing is provided. If a working signal governed the intersection where you were cited, that is a direct defense to the charge, although the State may try to charge the same conduct under a different section instead.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. §§ 21-101, 21-502, 21-503; Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 6-220; District Court of Maryland preset fine schedule DC-CR-090 (Rev. 10/2025). This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.