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Jaywalking legalized in New York City

theguardian.com

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Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#11

Post by e1g »

vasco wrote: post #3
olliej wrote: post #2

Not growing up in america I never understood what jaywalking was - I legit assumed it was a pedestrian crossing a freeway because nothing else made sense. Growing up I was taught explicitly to do what in the US was a crime: crossing between intersections because it is vastly safer than crossing at intersections. Obviously, there's a more complex issue with jaywalking where it is a crime that is trivially easy to enfo…

Jaywalking is any crossing in a wrong / illegal way, not about intersections specifically. Mostly it's about not using crosswalks, so I don't see how it collides with what Europe does. In Europe you also have differences with some countries where crosswalk lights are as a mandate from God and nobody will cross even at 2am deserted road. And then you have countries where the crosswalk lights are mere decorations.

I had an identity crisis in Germany when, at 2am on a deserted road, a group of hooligan-looking teenage boys told me off for crossing on red.

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#12

Post by foo42 »

Dilettante_ wrote: post #4
olliej wrote: post #2

Not growing up in america I never understood what jaywalking was - I legit assumed it was a pedestrian crossing a freeway because nothing else made sense. Growing up I was taught explicitly to do what in the US was a crime: crossing between intersections because it is vastly safer than crossing at intersections. Obviously, there's a more complex issue with jaywalking where it is a crime that is trivially easy to enfo…

Do you not have pedestrian crossings/stoplights for pedestrians in your country?

In the UK we have various types of pedestrian crossing, but they're an optional convenience. You can use them, or you can find a safe place and time to cross yourself.

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#13

Post by yieldcrv »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #6
zjp wrote: post #5

I kind of wonder now whether that was the most broken law in history.

Asking pedestrians to cross streets where cars are stopped and they are mostly protected? How is that broken?

Because the pedestrians and roads were there before cars.

Criminalizing the behavior was regulatory capture by Big Auto.

It being enforced by police from Connecticut who treat NYC’s minorities like a VR simulation was broken.

Strong recommendations and pointing out the loss in civil suits would have always been totally fine.

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#14

Post by timomaxgalvin »

vasco wrote: post #3
olliej wrote: post #2

Not growing up in america I never understood what jaywalking was - I legit assumed it was a pedestrian crossing a freeway because nothing else made sense. Growing up I was taught explicitly to do what in the US was a crime: crossing between intersections because it is vastly safer than crossing at intersections. Obviously, there's a more complex issue with jaywalking where it is a crime that is trivially easy to enfo…

Jaywalking is any crossing in a wrong / illegal way, not about intersections specifically. Mostly it's about not using crosswalks, so I don't see how it collides with what Europe does. In Europe you also have differences with some countries where crosswalk lights are as a mandate from God and nobody will cross even at 2am deserted road. And then you have countries where the crosswalk lights are mere decorations.

The distinction is about pedestrians being forced to use crossings. In the UK you can use them, but you can cross where you like if you want to.

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#16

Post by relistan »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #6
zjp wrote: post #5

I kind of wonder now whether that was the most broken law in history.

Asking pedestrians to cross streets where cars are stopped and they are mostly protected? How is that broken?

Lots of ways. Some of them are detailed here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-16/jaywalkin...

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#17

Post by fire_lake »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #6
zjp wrote: post #5

I kind of wonder now whether that was the most broken law in history.

Asking pedestrians to cross streets where cars are stopped and they are mostly protected? How is that broken?

Making the pedestrians go the long way prioritises driving, which leads to more people driving, which leads to more traffic, fumes, etc.

But most broken seems like a stretch!

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#18

Post by fire_lake »

foo42 wrote: post #12
Dilettante_ wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not have pedestrian crossings/stoplights for pedestrians in your country?

In the UK we have various types of pedestrian crossing, but they're an optional convenience. You can use them, or you can find a safe place and time to cross yourself.

And if no one uses them, they weren’t well designed to start with.

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#19

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

Dilettante_ wrote: post #4
olliej wrote: post #2

Not growing up in america I never understood what jaywalking was - I legit assumed it was a pedestrian crossing a freeway because nothing else made sense. Growing up I was taught explicitly to do what in the US was a crime: crossing between intersections because it is vastly safer than crossing at intersections. Obviously, there's a more complex issue with jaywalking where it is a crime that is trivially easy to enfo…

Do you not have pedestrian crossings/stoplights for pedestrians in your country?

In the UK, not at every intersection, by any means. In fact, it's probably a minority in many places. We're taught how to cross in the middle of the road.

Re: Jaywalking legalized in New York City

#20

Post by reedf1 »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #6
zjp wrote: post #5

I kind of wonder now whether that was the most broken law in history.

Asking pedestrians to cross streets where cars are stopped and they are mostly protected? How is that broken?

Granted you've misinterpreted the posters point - but I will respond to your perception of his point (which I agree with).

You could easily imagine a world where pedestrians have the right of way on the streets, and cars "request access to the road" in a similar way that pedestrians do. Actually, if this is not easy for you to imagine - it suggests enormous internal bias.

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