Facts
X. was driving at around 45 km/h on Bahnhofstrasse in the direction of a well-lit pedestrian crossing divided by a traffic island on October 11, 2000 at dusk. When she was 30 meters away from the crossing, pedestrian [A.] stepped onto the crossing from the left at a hurried pace, without stopping on the traffic island. X. continued driving at the same speed, resulting in a collision. [A.] suffered a whiplash injury to the cervical spine and bruises.
On June 11, 2001, the District Court of Baden convicted X. of negligent bodily harm and imposed a fine of 300 Swiss francs. The High Court of the Canton of Aargau dismissed X.'s appeal on April 26, 2002.
X. has filed a federal nullity appeal, requesting that the High Court's judgment be set aside and the case be remanded to the lower court for a new decision.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal.
The lower court has overlooked the fact that the pedestrian crossing is divided by a traffic island. According to Art. 47 para. 3 of the Road Traffic Regulations, in the case of such crossings without traffic control, each part of the crossing is considered a separate crossing. The pedestrian must therefore (at the latest) check on the traffic island whether they can enter the second part of the crossing without forcing vehicles to take evasive maneuvers.
The driver approaching such a pedestrian crossing may generally assume that the pedestrian will fulfill their duty of observation and waiting. However, the…