PED XING and law enforcement

By Atty. Eduardo T. Reyes III

“PED XING” is a universally-recognized traffic sign for “pedestrian crossing.” Some jurisdictions call it the “Zebra Stripe” because the white lines on the street look like imprints of those on a zebra skin.

Colloquially, it is called “pedestrian lane;” and yet, under RA 4136 titled the “Land Transportation and Traffic Code,” it is called “crosswalk.”

Dashcam footage recently went viral showing a pedestrian slapping a motorcycle rider’s helmet. The incident occurred on the busy Diversion Road in Mandurriao District after the rider refused to yield, even though all other vehicles had stopped for the crossing pedestrians.

The Land Transportation Office Region 6 (LTO-6) quickly tracked down the motorcycle rider and issued a Show Cause Order (SCO). The agency flagged the incident as reckless driving, requiring the motorist to formally explain his behavior or risk losing his driving privileges permanently.

What does the governing law say in respect to PED XINGs?

Section 42 (c  ) of RA 4136 states:

“Section 42. Right of way.

(a) x x x

(b) x x x

(c) The driver of any vehicle upon a highway within a business or residential district shall yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing such highway within a crosswalk, except at intersections where the movement of traffic is being regulated by a peace officer or by traffic signal. Every pedestrian crossing a highway within a business or residential district, at any point other than a crosswalk shall yield the right of way to vehicles upon the highway. 

(d) x x x.”

The law underlines “highway within a business or residential district” for obvious reasons. Being a busy area, foot traffic is heavy in those zones. But pitted against motor vehicles of different kinds and speed, people traffic is no match to motor vehicle busyness. Therefore, enforcement of the priority of pedestrians on their “crosswalks” cannot be overemphasized.

Ironically, traffic enforcers are quick to penalize motorists who slightly cross the stop lines at red lights, yet motorcycle riders frequently violate crosswalk safety with impunity.

While LTO-6 was quick to penalize the offending motorcycle rider, yet this usually comes after the fact. Perhaps, it would be better for traffic enforcers on the streets to ensure that the right of way rule on crosswalks is observed at all times.

Going back to the pedestrian who slapped the motorcycle rider who “crossed” him on the pedestrian lane, the incident could be a magnifying glass of the failings of law enforcement in terms of crime prevention.

Not only in terms of traffic violations; but also on other crimes. We arrest the ones who are easy to catch.

Most crimes are being punished in law because they cause tremendous harm not only to the victims but to the State or society in general. Yet our traffic enforcers are more mindful of minor traffic violations than major ones.

They are jumpy to apprehend a senior citizen who forgot to put on his seat belt while crawling in traffic. Another senior citizen was accosted because he could not press the accelerator of his SUV instantly upon turning of the traffic light from red to green. It turned out that the senior citizen driver has osteoarthritis.

The point is: laws and rules must be enforced with a purpose. Laws are humane and are meant to punish the guilty especially when the violation causes harm or damage.

The law- and its enforcement- can never be arbitrary.

When traffic enforcement is reduced to a game of catching low-hanging fruit rather than protecting human life, the law’s moral authority is eroded. A pedestrian slapping a helmet on a busy highway is not just a viral moment of frustration; it is a symptom of a society forced to defend itself when its protectors fail to show up. Until our streets are policed with purpose—prioritizing public safety over arbitrary penalties—the white stripes of the crosswalk will remain less of a sanctuary for citizens, and more of a monument to selective justice.

(The author is the senior partner of ET Reyes III & Associates (ETRIIILaw)– a law firm based in Iloilo City. He is a litigation attorney, a law professor, MCLE lecturer, bar reviewer and a book author. Among the books he authored is “Law on Property and Essentials of Land Registration [2024 Edition]” which was on the bestseller’s list in online shops for several months. In 2026, he published his second major legal textbook titled “Comprehensive Reviewer on Persons and Family Relations.” His website is etriiilaw.com).