Can I get arrested for ‘walking and exercising’ in Idaho? State laws explained

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — A viral video has Idaho residents asking about the rules of walking on the road.

Boise resident Beverly Carothers was taking an evening stroll along the road when police reportedly pulled over and handed her a $61 citation.

“I did not know it’s (freaking) illegal to walk on a country road,” said Carothers, who shared her experience in a Facebook video posted on Aug. 30.

“It’s illegal for me to be out exercising?” Carothers asks in the video. “Guys, I exercise every frickin’ day.”

Where are pedestrians legally allowed to walk in Idaho? Can I be penalized for where I choose to walk?

Here’s what Idaho law says:

Why did Boise woman get fined for walking?

In her Facebook video, Carothers explains her reasons for exercising along a country road.

“Guess what? I don’t want to walk on my sidewalk in the city when there’s these beautiful trees out here, fresh air, less pollution,” she says.

“Three cop cars pulled over — three — to give me this ticket in broad daylight because I was walking backward, safely,” Carothers says, explaining that she was doing so in order to face oncoming traffic.

“Are we on the planet so that we can obey laws and rules and pay tickets for walking and exercising?” she asks.

As of Wednesday, the video had approximately 900 likes and more than 1,000 comments.

Carothers’ experience isn’t the only one prompting questions about pedestrian laws.

In early October, Ammon Bundy, a far-right activist known for his unconventional protest tactics, reportedly had multiple run-ins with law enforcement officers along Interstate 15 in Utah.

The Iron County Sheriff’s Office pulled Bundy over and arrested him on Oct. 7 on suspicion of driving without registration, driving with an expired license and other charges following a traffic stop.

After Bundy was released from jail, the former Idaho resident later told St. George News, he walked eight miles southbound along I-15 to protest the restrictions on his “God-given right” to travel.

Is it common for police to pull over pedestrians?

Law enforcement officers don’t typically patrol for pedestrians walking in the road, according to Emily Walker, the public information officer at the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

“We get calls … fairly often for people that are in the roadway,” Walker told the Idaho Statesman via phone call. “Cops are dispatched to check on those situations purely because of the safety concern.”

“We don’t want to see them get hit,” Walker said. “We just want to check on their safety.”

Who’s considered a pedestrian in Idaho?

Idaho law defines a pedestrian as “any person afoot and any person operating a wheelchair.”

People who use motorized wheelchairs and mobility scooters are also considered pedestrians under the law.

Where am I legally allowed to walk in Idaho?

In Idaho, it’s against the law to “walk along and upon an adjacent roadway” if there is an unobstructed sidewalk available.

If sidewalks aren’t an option, pedestrians walk on the shoulder of the road, staying “as far as practicable from the edge of the roadway,” Idaho Code says.

You’re only allowed to walk on the road itself if there are no other options.

“Where neither a sidewalk nor a shoulder is available, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk as near as practicable to an outside edge of the roadway,” Idaho law said.

You’re legally required to stick to the left side of the road in the case of a two-way highway.

From this perspective, you should be able to see any traffic headed your way.

Pedestrians should be “as far to the left as possible” in these scenarios, Sheriff’s Office Lt. Kevin Lowry told the Statesman via phone.

Idaho law does not specify which direction folks walking on the shoulder must face — or which side of the road they’re supposed to be on.

However, Lowry said that “if a sidewalk is not there, then they should walk on the shoulder on the right side.”

When it’s necessary to walk directly on the road, pedestrians forfeit “the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway,” Idaho Code says.

What does Idaho law say about standing in the road?

According to the Idaho Department of Transportation, it’s against Idaho state law to stand on the road for “the purpose of soliciting a ride.”

You’re also not allowed “employment, business or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle,” Idaho Code says.

In addition, Idaho outlaws standing on or in proximity to a roadway for the purpose of “watching or guarding of any vehicle while parked or about to be parked on a highway.”

What are penalties for walking on the road?

If there is an unobstructed and safe path set aside for pedestrian use, and you choose to walk on the roadway, you could be fined under Idaho state law.

Pedestrian laws are established to “provide guardrails or rules to follow on the roadway,” Lowry said.

Pedestrians who break those rules face infractions “so that they can be held accountable for what they’re doing,” according to Lowry.

You could be charged with an infraction for violating pedestrian and bicycle laws.

Just one of these infractions can cost you $61.50.