3 ms·

On the other hand, there are probably many more instances of jaywalking than police encounters, so the statement you quoted may still be correct. At 36x, I'd gu

On the other hand, there are probably many more instances of jaywalking than police encounters, so the statement you quoted may still be correct. At 36x, I'd guess that's more likely than not—I've been stopped on foot by the police once that I can remember, and I've probably jaywalked thousands of times. In my own anecdotal experience, the most dangerous way to cross the road is in a marked crosswalk with a signal—as in, this is how I've come closest to death by car the most times in the city where I've been living for a few decades. Intersections with these crosswalks often have traffic coming from multiple directions, and you have to really understand the local traffic patterns to cross safely without exposing yourself to a vehicle running a red light or taking a hasty left turn without checking for pedestrians. I would be interested to know how many of the pedestrian deaths in the statistic you quoted were due to jaywalking.

btilly 6y ago
In my own anecdotal experience, the most dangerous way to cross the road is in a marked crosswalk with a signal... When I visited London a couple of years ago I was surprised to see that they set the crosswalk significantly back from the intersection. Meaning that a car turning actually can turn, and stop in front of the crosswalk for pedestrians. Which in turn means that the driver can pay attention to cars, decide to turn, and then separately deal with pedestrians rather than have pedestrians be part of a complicated decision. I know of no research on it, but I have to believe that this design saves lives over the American standard of having the crosswalk right at the intersection.
- mdpye 6y ago
  Did you also notice that there's no such thing as jaywalking in the UK? I had to be told so many times on visiting the US to start to internalise it! Here, you cross where and when it's safe. Busy roads have crossings, because otherwise you might wait a very long time for it to be safe, but there are no crossings on 99% of streets, because you're allowed to cross them wherever you need to
  - btilly 6y ago
    I did not notice. I just walked as I normally would in the USA. :-)

btilly 6y ago

In my own anecdotal experience, the most dangerous way to cross the road is in a marked crosswalk with a signal... When I visited London a couple of years ago I was surprised to see that they set the crosswalk significantly back from the intersection. Meaning that a car turning actually can turn, and stop in front of the crosswalk for pedestrians. Which in turn means that the driver can pay attention to cars, decide to turn, and then separately deal with pedestrians rather than have pedestrians be part of a complicated decision. I know of no research on it, but I have to believe that this design saves lives over the American standard of having the crosswalk right at the intersection.

mdpye 6y ago
Did you also notice that there's no such thing as jaywalking in the UK? I had to be told so many times on visiting the US to start to internalise it! Here, you cross where and when it's safe. Busy roads have crossings, because otherwise you might wait a very long time for it to be safe, but there are no crossings on 99% of streets, because you're allowed to cross them wherever you need to
- btilly 6y ago
  I did not notice. I just walked as I normally would in the USA. :-)