32 ms·

Sure, they were pro-active about it, but let's face it: It was going to happen anyhow. This just accelerated things.

by wccrawford 9y ago

throwaway2048 9y ago
We live in only one possible future.
- virgilp 9y ago
  Well, jaywaking isn't a crime in UK (except on freeways), but the general result is roughly the same.
  - JdeBP 9y ago
    It's not a crime on motorways. Pedestrians are not permitted on motorways at all (except for emergencies), so where and how they can cross them is a moot point. * http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/1163/contents/made http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/1163/contents/made
makmanalp 9y ago
Well, we could be living in a situation where pedestrians take precedence and have right of way over cars in city streets, and the opposite in highways, which I think would be much more desirable, especially in crowded cities. Perhaps even ban cars except for abutters, commercial vehicles and emergency vehicles from the densest city center areas. God that would be a relief. edit: OK, yes, obviously you can and should distinguish between streets and roads, the former being smaller and mainly for residents and visitors of a subsector of the area (who can play hacky-sack on their residential street if they so well please, and you still have to wait for them), and the latter being mainly for car transportation in and out of the area itself. You can prioritize humans in one and cars in the other.
- gambiting 9y ago
  It's already true in many places, in a lot of European cities you see a sign like this when entering: https://lsmlomza.pl/pliki/2014/03/lsm-znak1.jpg https://lsmlomza.pl/pliki/2014/03/lsm-znak1.jpg And it basically means that pedestrians have an absolute priority before cars, they can walk on the street as much as they like and you as a driver have to exhibit some extreme attention because if anything happens, it's 99% certain you will be found at fault.
  - 725686 9y ago
    Is that sign real? It is awful design. The meaning is complete obscure to me.
    - mkj 9y ago
      Maybe drivers slow down to contemplate the sign!
    - derekp7 9y ago
      At first glance, I read it as "caution, children at play". But I assume that if this is a standard sign, it would be covered on the drivers license test in that country.
      - Symbiote 9y ago
        Caution signs are red-bordered triangles. Warning of children in/near the road: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Mauritius_Road_Signs_-_Warning_Sign_-_Children.svg/556px-Mauritius_Road_Signs_-_Warning_Sign_-_Children.svg.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Ma...
    - Joe-Z 9y ago
      It does exist, although the particular image linked here seems to be a Photoshop-copy (I don't think the scales are correct). As for the obscurity: A lot of traffic signs are, you learn their meaning in driving school.
mattmanser 9y ago
I thought jaywalking is only a thing in the US? I'm not sure who's less informed, you or me, I have no idea about the prevalence of the idea in other countries. It's not a crime to "jaywalk" in the UK, and I quote it as the concept simply doesn't exist here. Also, in the UK, if you are crossing a side street and a car wants to turn into it, officially speaking, the pedestrian has the right of way[1]. [1]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-159-to-203#rule170 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-... Edit: Seems it's a real mix, some there are none, others have it, some have it but it's never enforced and some countries have laws that only apply within a certain distance of designated crossings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking
- hellweaver666 9y ago
  It exists in the Netherlands (although I've never seen anyone fined for it)
  - contravariant 9y ago
    As far as I know no such crime exists in the Netherlands. Pedestrians are strongly encouraged to cross carefully, but there are no fines for crossing wherever you want. It is illegal to ignore a red light, although I can't figure out if there's a law forcing you to use that crossing. And there is probably some kind of law against creating dangerous situations, but that's not exactly a law against jaywalking.
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      You can get fined but you won't. The rule is that you have to cross using the crosswalk if there is one within 30 meters, any further than that and you are in the clear.
- rb808 9y ago
  Europe is more strict esp Germany. I heard a story that if you get hit by a car they'll come to your hospital bed to give you the bill to repair the car damage, though I'm not sure how accurate that is.
refurb 9y ago
That's what I hate about articles like this. It's great for click-bait, but pretty short on the truth. The article didn't prove that car manufacturers created jaywalking laws. The best they came up with was that they were involved in helping shape the laws that governed road. And why wouldn't they? No doubt there were a number of different factors that led to current jaywalking laws. Auto manufacturer influence was just one of them. But it makes for a much compelling story to simplify the issue and just call out one party.

Sure, they were pro-active about it, but let's face it: It was going to happen anyhow. This just accelerated things.

throwaway2048 9y ago

We live in only one possible future.

virgilp 9y ago
Well, jaywaking isn't a crime in UK (except on freeways), but the general result is roughly the same.
- JdeBP 9y ago
  It's not a crime on motorways. Pedestrians are not permitted on motorways at all (except for emergencies), so where and how they can cross them is a moot point. * http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/1163/contents/made http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/1163/contents/made

makmanalp 9y ago

Well, we could be living in a situation where pedestrians take precedence and have right of way over cars in city streets, and the opposite in highways, which I think would be much more desirable, especially in crowded cities. Perhaps even ban cars except for abutters, commercial vehicles and emergency vehicles from the densest city center areas. God that would be a relief. edit: OK, yes, obviously you can and should distinguish between streets and roads, the former being smaller and mainly for residents and visitors of a subsector of the area (who can play hacky-sack on their residential street if they so well please, and you still have to wait for them), and the latter being mainly for car transportation in and out of the area itself. You can prioritize humans in one and cars in the other.

gambiting 9y ago
It's already true in many places, in a lot of European cities you see a sign like this when entering: https://lsmlomza.pl/pliki/2014/03/lsm-znak1.jpg https://lsmlomza.pl/pliki/2014/03/lsm-znak1.jpg And it basically means that pedestrians have an absolute priority before cars, they can walk on the street as much as they like and you as a driver have to exhibit some extreme attention because if anything happens, it's 99% certain you will be found at fault.
- 725686 9y ago
  Is that sign real? It is awful design. The meaning is complete obscure to me.
  - mkj 9y ago
    Maybe drivers slow down to contemplate the sign!
  - derekp7 9y ago
    At first glance, I read it as "caution, children at play". But I assume that if this is a standard sign, it would be covered on the drivers license test in that country.
    - Symbiote 9y ago
      Caution signs are red-bordered triangles. Warning of children in/near the road: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Mauritius_Road_Signs_-_Warning_Sign_-_Children.svg/556px-Mauritius_Road_Signs_-_Warning_Sign_-_Children.svg.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Ma...
  - Joe-Z 9y ago
    It does exist, although the particular image linked here seems to be a Photoshop-copy (I don't think the scales are correct). As for the obscurity: A lot of traffic signs are, you learn their meaning in driving school.

mattmanser 9y ago

I thought jaywalking is only a thing in the US? I'm not sure who's less informed, you or me, I have no idea about the prevalence of the idea in other countries. It's not a crime to "jaywalk" in the UK, and I quote it as the concept simply doesn't exist here. Also, in the UK, if you are crossing a side street and a car wants to turn into it, officially speaking, the pedestrian has the right of way[1]. [1]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-159-to-203#rule170 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-... Edit: Seems it's a real mix, some there are none, others have it, some have it but it's never enforced and some countries have laws that only apply within a certain distance of designated crossings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking

hellweaver666 9y ago
It exists in the Netherlands (although I've never seen anyone fined for it)
- contravariant 9y ago
  As far as I know no such crime exists in the Netherlands. Pedestrians are strongly encouraged to cross carefully, but there are no fines for crossing wherever you want. It is illegal to ignore a red light, although I can't figure out if there's a law forcing you to use that crossing. And there is probably some kind of law against creating dangerous situations, but that's not exactly a law against jaywalking.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    You can get fined but you won't. The rule is that you have to cross using the crosswalk if there is one within 30 meters, any further than that and you are in the clear.
rb808 9y ago
Europe is more strict esp Germany. I heard a story that if you get hit by a car they'll come to your hospital bed to give you the bill to repair the car damage, though I'm not sure how accurate that is.

refurb 9y ago

That's what I hate about articles like this. It's great for click-bait, but pretty short on the truth. The article didn't prove that car manufacturers created jaywalking laws. The best they came up with was that they were involved in helping shape the laws that governed road. And why wouldn't they? No doubt there were a number of different factors that led to current jaywalking laws. Auto manufacturer influence was just one of them. But it makes for a much compelling story to simplify the issue and just call out one party.