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As a Brit living in London the whole idea of 'jaywalking' is hilarious. It's totally ridiculous to force pedestrians to always use lights & pelican crossings. A

As a Brit living in London the whole idea of 'jaywalking' is hilarious. It's totally ridiculous to force pedestrians to always use lights & pelican crossings. Assuming everyone has a bit of common sense (don't walk in front of a moving car) I can think of absolutely no reason why these ridiculous laws even exist. A huge number of hours are saved in London every day by everyone not having to wait for a green man. And a $197 fine?! WTF? Glad I'm not living in LA, I could rack up thousands of dollars in a few hours if walking as one does in London.

walshemj 13y ago
Yes we dont have jaywalking laws in the UK and the world hasn't ended - maybe the LA cops need to concentrate on more serious crimes or maybe there are to many cops?
justincormack 13y ago
There were mass protests on Western Avenue in London when the first footbridge was built over a road, forcing pedestrians off the roads. The car still won. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26245280@N00/256217251/in/photolist-oDbsP-oE2HY-oMxV1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/26245280@N00/256217251/in/photo...
pwg 13y ago
> Assuming everyone has a bit of common sense (don't walk in front of a moving car) And therein lies the problem. There is a subset of American pedestrians who, because the law says they have the right of way, believe that the laws of physics also do not apply to them either. I have personally witnessed, too many times to count, a pedestrian approaching a crosswalk across a busy, four lane road, who continues, fast paced, without slowing the slightest, towards, into, and across, the crosswalk, without so much as even a glance left or right to check where the oncoming traffic happens to be. I.e., they just step out in front of cars (4 lanes worth) moving 35MPH, with no regard for how much distance there is between a cars hood and their spot in the crosswalk. The only thing that saves them from getting killed is the random positioning of cars such that they don't actually step in front of a car with only 20 feet left before impact, and the fact that the drivers with 100 feet of space left nearly skid to a stop because of the fool that forget what his/her mother taught them: "Always look both ways before crossing the street". Sadly, this total lack of common sense seems to infest about 20% of the pedestrian population, and is a major factor contributing to the accident rate. Because quite simply, if you are not in front of a moving car, you can't possibly be hit.
- Fizzadar 13y ago
  This is very rare in the UK, everyone's pretty good at looking left & right (although many will run/jog rather than wait). I guess this is more an education problem. To be frank if you're stupid enough not to look then you deserve to be hit (of course that attitude won't work in reality as often the driver/car will be at fault by default - certainly in the UK). Perhaps the best approach would be to not punish 'safe' jaywalking but to give out harsh tickets for those that cause cars to slam the brakes/similar.
  - pwg 13y ago
    > Perhaps the best approach would be to not punish 'safe' jaywalking but to give out harsh tickets for those that cause cars to slam the brakes/similar. Yes, this would be best, but sadly like so many root causes of problems, it will likely not get addressed.
mixmastamyk 13y ago
I think a big, dense city with narrow roads is a different case. Cars are mostly slow moving in that case. LA has wide boulevards with cars sometimes moving at high speed right next to peds... crossing becomes more dangerous.

walshemj 13y ago

Yes we dont have jaywalking laws in the UK and the world hasn't ended - maybe the LA cops need to concentrate on more serious crimes or maybe there are to many cops?

justincormack 13y ago

There were mass protests on Western Avenue in London when the first footbridge was built over a road, forcing pedestrians off the roads. The car still won. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26245280@N00/256217251/in/photolist-oDbsP-oE2HY-oMxV1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/26245280@N00/256217251/in/photo...

pwg 13y ago

> Assuming everyone has a bit of common sense (don't walk in front of a moving car) And therein lies the problem. There is a subset of American pedestrians who, because the law says they have the right of way, believe that the laws of physics also do not apply to them either. I have personally witnessed, too many times to count, a pedestrian approaching a crosswalk across a busy, four lane road, who continues, fast paced, without slowing the slightest, towards, into, and across, the crosswalk, without so much as even a glance left or right to check where the oncoming traffic happens to be. I.e., they just step out in front of cars (4 lanes worth) moving 35MPH, with no regard for how much distance there is between a cars hood and their spot in the crosswalk. The only thing that saves them from getting killed is the random positioning of cars such that they don't actually step in front of a car with only 20 feet left before impact, and the fact that the drivers with 100 feet of space left nearly skid to a stop because of the fool that forget what his/her mother taught them: "Always look both ways before crossing the street". Sadly, this total lack of common sense seems to infest about 20% of the pedestrian population, and is a major factor contributing to the accident rate. Because quite simply, if you are not in front of a moving car, you can't possibly be hit.

Fizzadar 13y ago
This is very rare in the UK, everyone's pretty good at looking left & right (although many will run/jog rather than wait). I guess this is more an education problem. To be frank if you're stupid enough not to look then you deserve to be hit (of course that attitude won't work in reality as often the driver/car will be at fault by default - certainly in the UK). Perhaps the best approach would be to not punish 'safe' jaywalking but to give out harsh tickets for those that cause cars to slam the brakes/similar.
- pwg 13y ago
  > Perhaps the best approach would be to not punish 'safe' jaywalking but to give out harsh tickets for those that cause cars to slam the brakes/similar. Yes, this would be best, but sadly like so many root causes of problems, it will likely not get addressed.

mixmastamyk 13y ago

I think a big, dense city with narrow roads is a different case. Cars are mostly slow moving in that case. LA has wide boulevards with cars sometimes moving at high speed right next to peds... crossing becomes more dangerous.