Jaywalking

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is about pedestrians and traffic. For the recurring Jay Leno segment, see his recurring segments.

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

This article or section deals primarily with the English-speaking world and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject.
Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

Sign prohibiting jaywalking in Singapore's Orchard Road

Jaywalking is a term used to describe when a pedestrian crosses the street outside designated crossing areas. 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.

1 Etymology
2 Legality
3 Causes
4 Safety
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Etymology

According to one historian, the earliest known use of the word jaywalker in print was in the Chicago Tribune in 1909.^[1] (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.^[2] 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 folk etymology refers the word to the letter "J", describing the line followed by the pedestrian - going parallel with the road when the other side is reached.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Legality

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

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

[edit] United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) it is legal to cross all roads except motorways, which forbids all pedestrians and slower vehicles. The Highway Code contains additional rules for crossing a road safely,^[3] 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.^[4] The term "jaywalking" is not used.

The highway code specifically mentions the special case of a car turning into a road which a pedestrian is already crossing. In this case the pedestrian has priority. ^[5]

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.

[edit] 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 $1^[6] to $750.

[edit] Australia

In Australia it is illegal to 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. Furthermore it is illegal to cross any road 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. Some roads, such as roads with a record of pedestrian accidents, feature fences in their centres to discourage pedestrians, but there is no law against traversing them.^[7]

[edit] Singapore

Singapore has arguably the harshest punishment for jaywalking^{[citation needed]}. First offenses may go for up to $500 SGD ($285 USD), as well as up to three months in jail. Repeat offenders may receive a $2000 SGD fine, and up to five to six months imprisonment^[8].

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

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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Safety

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

The presence or absence of traffic
The speed and volume of traffic (if present)
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 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 traveling 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.