Most states' laws provide that pedestrians have the right of way when crossing a street or roadway within a crosswalk, whether it is marked or unmarked; right of way simply refers to the party who has the right to cross the street first. As a result, vehicles typically must yield or stop in order to let a pedestrian cross the street in a crosswalk before proceeding forward. However, pedestrians' right of way is not absolute in all situations. For instance, many state laws prohibit pedestrians from crossing the street outside of a marked crosswalk, a practice that is often called "jaywalking," or from suddenly crossing a street in a manner that does not give oncoming traffic a reasonable opportunity to yield or stop. Likewise, pedestrians must yield to traffic signals, even when crossing a street within a crosswalk. If a traffic signal indicates that a pedestrian should stop rather than proceeding through a crosswalk, then the pedestrian is required to stop and yield to any oncoming vehicles.