Jaywalking

For other uses, see Jaywalk (disambiguation).

Sign prohibiting jaywalking in Singapore's Orchard Road

Jaywalking is a term used to describe when a pedestrian crosses the street without regard to traffic statutes. In common North American use, the term generally refers to someone crossing a major street outside a designated crosswalk or intersection in jurisdictions where this is illegal. In the United Kingdom, it may also refer to crossing an intersection on a diagonal.

Etymology

According to one historian, the earliest known use of the word jaywalker in print was in the Chicago Tribune in 1909. (The earliest citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1917.) The term's dissemination was due in part to a deliberate effort by promoters of automobiles, such as local auto clubs and dealers, to redefine streets as places where pedestrians do not belong. It is a compound word of the words jay and walk; jay referring to a foolish rural person, a rube, unfamiliar with city ways. An alternative explanation refers to the letter "J", describing the line followed by the pedestrian - going parallel with the road when the other side is reached.

Legality

When used in the technical sense, jaywalking specifically refers to violation of pedestrian traffic regulations and laws, and is therefore illegal. Jaywalking is illegal in United States.

In many countries, such regulations do not exist, and jaywalking is an unknown concept.

United Kingdom

A famous zebra crossing in Abbey Road, London

In the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) it is legal to cross a road anywhere except:

• On motorways, from which all pedestrians (along with slower vehicles) are banned.

The Highway Code contains additional rules for crossing a road safely, but these are recommendations and not legally enforceable, although as with other advisory parts of the Highway Code compliance or otherwise can be used to establish liability in legal proceedings. The term "jaywalking" is not used.

In UK schools children are taught to cross roads safely through the Green Cross Code. British children are taught to "Stop, Look, Listen and Think", before crossing a road.

In Northern Ireland jaywalking can be charged at Police discretion and usually only in the case of an accident when clearly witnessed. Otherwise, Northern Ireland is essentially the same as elsewhere in the UK.

North America

Almost all urban areas in the United States and Canada require pedestrians to cross at crosswalks or intersections and to obey pedestrian traffic signals. Jaywalking is primarily considered an infraction but in some jurisdictions, it is a misdemeanor or requires a court appearance. It typically carries a warning or modest fine or not more than one week in jail. In some cities (e.g. New York City), although still illegal, jaywalking is so common that it is generally considered harmless, and police only detain jaywalkers if their behavior is excessively dangerous or disruptive.

Penalties for jaywalking vary by municipality. For example, in Tempe, AZ, as of June 2006 jaywalking carried fines up to $118. A sampling of other U.S. cities found fines ranging from $57 to $750.

Australia

In Australia it is illegal to proceed cross the road at an intersection when a pedestrian light is red or flashing red. If no such pedestrians light exists, the traffic lights is used, making it illegal to proceed on red or orange. Further more it is illegal to cross any road within 20 metres of a intersection with pedestrians lights or within 20 meters of any pedesitrian crossing (including a zebra crossing, school crossing or any other pedestrian crossing). The penalty for Jaywalking is $30. A Jaywalker may also be held fully or partially responsible if they are involved in an accident with a vehicle. Road may often feature fences in their centres to discourage pedestrians, but there is no law against traversing them.

Causes

In many areas, jaywalking has become commonplace and continues to increase. This can be attributed to many factors, including:

• an increasing speed of society
• vehicles parked illegally on the sidewalk
• road works
• an increasing number of pedestrians who are behind schedule
• convenience
• reduced fitness and walking speed
• reduced respect for pedestrian traffic laws or traffic in general
• hawkers crowding the pedestrian walking zone
• kindness to drivers, waiting for a gap in traffic rather than forcing vehicles to stop

In some areas, roads have become actively unfriendly to pedestrians, with long gaps between intersections with crosswalks. Some four-way intersections feature fewer than four crosswalks, forcing pedestrians to make three crossings instead of one in order to remain legal. In these situations, jaywalking may occur out of inconvenience, annoyance, or active protest.

In some cases, jaywalkers are engaging in a minor form of civil disobedience. These individuals cite further ways in which roads have become less pedestrian-friendly, including reduced or removed lighting at night, and the removal of sidewalks on one or both sides of the road. To them, jaywalking is a means of expressing their discontent with the road system and its lack of consideration for non-vehicular traffic. In 2005 Tempe, AZ was the site of a mass jaywalking protest as hundreds of protesters led by Kaveh Sanaei walked back and forth across the main street during rush hour in protest of the removal of street lamps. In response the city government imposed higher jaywalking fines to raise revenue for street lamps.

Safety

Jaywalking safety depends on many factors, including but not limited to the following:

• The pedestrian's level of diligence and attentiveness
• How far the pedestrian can see down the road
• How visible the pedestrian is
• The presence of parked vehicles
• The distance to the nearest point where additional unseen traffic may appear, typically intersections
• The number of lanes to cross
• The speed limit of the road
• Current condition of the road (wet, icy, etc.)
• The presence or absence of traffic
• The speed and volume of traffic (if present)
• The size of the break in traffic selected for crossing (if present)
• How common jaywalking is in the area

Jaywalking is generally safest in quiet residential neighbourhoods, where cars travel slowly, stop frequently, and are accustomed to dealing with crossing pedestrians. In some quieter neighbourhoods, the road and sidewalk are interchangeable for pedestrians; they may make long diagonal crossings in the absence of traffic, or walk entirely on the road for many reasons, including poor sidewalk conditions (e.g. snow). Traffic laws regarding pedestrians in these areas are largely ignored in favour of mutual respect, with pedestrians making room for cars, and cars making wide arcs to give pedestrians a comfortable margin.

Some supporters of jaywalking argue that on certain streets, jaywalking can be safer than crossing properly at an intersection. When a pedestrian crosses at an intersection, there is traffic going three or more different directions, with four directions being standard in almost all cases. Vehicles may go straight, or they may turn left or right across the pedestrian's path. This is typically at high speed, sometimes without signalling, and sometimes while running red lights at even higher speeds. However, drivers may be more likely to expect pedestrians at a corner than in the middle of the block.

In the middle of the block, cars are travelling in only two directions. If there is a raised median in the centre of the road, traffic is further reduced to one direction during each stage of the crossing. The pedestrian must only monitor one or two directions and can easily see and track all oncoming traffic. Once a break forms in the traffic, the pedestrian can cross, with little or no risk of being hit by an unseen vehicle.

Variants of this argument exist. In downtown Montreal, independent of the above argument, some also claim that it can be safer to cross at a crosswalk when the light is red. They argue that many local drivers practice very aggressive driving habits; in particular, that they have a tendency to turn right at high speed, without consideration for crossing pedestrians. However, right turns on a red light are illegal on all of the island, so a pedestrian crossing against the light has little risk of being hit by a car approaching from behind and turning right.

See also

Effects of the automobile on societies

External links

• What every Brit should know about jaywalking; BBC News