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Early outrage over automobiles injuring and killing pedestrians at an alarming rate threatened to stall the growth in driving. In response, the auto industry un

Early outrage over automobiles injuring and killing pedestrians at an alarming rate threatened to stall the growth in driving. In response, the auto industry undertook a major campaign to assert that cars should have the right-of-way and to denormalize people walking and cycling on the street, pushing them to the edges and criminalizing "jaywalking". Now, when a person driving a car kills a person walking, the default reaction is to blame the person walking for not being careful or attentive or visible enough. We have been conditioned point the finger at the pedestrian's earbuds rather than the obvious source of danger. Even when a driver is found guilty of careless driving, the maximum punishment - at least in most North American jurisdictions - is a $500 fine and maybe a few demerit points.

sandworm 12y ago
That's a bit of an exaggeration. Pedestrians are not automatically to blame in every case. Today we have rules governing the movements of both pedestrians and cars. There is no default winner. Pedestrians win on crosswalks and such, but not in the middle of highways. And even there the car is no clear winner. For instance, if both driver and pedestrian have earbuds in, society today would say the driver is the more reckless. In fact most jurisdictions specifically forbid headphones on drivers. None that I know of forbid them of pedestrians. And 500$ is certainly not the maximum punishment. Vehicular homicide, negligence causing death, reckless endangerment, DUI ... even basic speeding tickets in many jurisdictions are far higher than 500$.
- gonvaled 12y ago
  Wherever the blame may be, and whatever the punishments are, the fact is that the quote was more prescient than inaccurate: we should have legislated better in the early days of the automobile. Now it is too late (or will take too long for changes to take effect): the automobiles are ruling the roads, and specially the cities, from streets to parking lots. Urban planning is done (in most cases) with the goal of facilitating car circulation - pedestrians and bicycles are an afterthought, when at all.
- RyanMcGreal 12y ago
  Speaking for my jurisdication (Ontario), it is theoretically possible to find a driver guilty of careless or reckless driving and a penalty more severe than $500. In practice, it is extremely rare to see a serious charge, let alone a conviction, even when a driver strikes a pedestrian crossing legally in a crosswalk. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/05/18/is_a_persons_life_worth_500_highway_traffic_act_says_yes.html http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/05/18/is_a_persons_life... Here are some quick examples I found: http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/12/driver_fined_500_after_killing_pedestrian.html http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/12/driver_fined_50... http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/13/toronto_woman_fined_500_for_killing_pedestrian_88.html http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/13/toronto_woman_f... http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/449137/man-34-dies-after-being-struck-by-car-in-sackville-crosswalk/ http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/449137/man-34-dies-after-be... And it's not just Ontario: http://gothamist.com/2011/07/14/unlicensed_dump_truck_driver_who_ki.php http://gothamist.com/2011/07/14/unlicensed_dump_truck_driver... http://gothamist.com/2014/04/09/drunk_driver_who_killed_brooklyn_pe.php http://gothamist.com/2014/04/09/drunk_driver_who_killed_broo... http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/11/11/unlicensed-driver-who-backed-over-and-killed-yolanda-casal-fined-500/ http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/11/11/unlicensed-driver-who-... Et cetera, ad nauseam.

sandworm 12y ago

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Pedestrians are not automatically to blame in every case. Today we have rules governing the movements of both pedestrians and cars. There is no default winner. Pedestrians win on crosswalks and such, but not in the middle of highways. And even there the car is no clear winner. For instance, if both driver and pedestrian have earbuds in, society today would say the driver is the more reckless. In fact most jurisdictions specifically forbid headphones on drivers. None that I know of forbid them of pedestrians. And 500$ is certainly not the maximum punishment. Vehicular homicide, negligence causing death, reckless endangerment, DUI ... even basic speeding tickets in many jurisdictions are far higher than 500$.

gonvaled 12y ago
Wherever the blame may be, and whatever the punishments are, the fact is that the quote was more prescient than inaccurate: we should have legislated better in the early days of the automobile. Now it is too late (or will take too long for changes to take effect): the automobiles are ruling the roads, and specially the cities, from streets to parking lots. Urban planning is done (in most cases) with the goal of facilitating car circulation - pedestrians and bicycles are an afterthought, when at all.
RyanMcGreal 12y ago
Speaking for my jurisdication (Ontario), it is theoretically possible to find a driver guilty of careless or reckless driving and a penalty more severe than $500. In practice, it is extremely rare to see a serious charge, let alone a conviction, even when a driver strikes a pedestrian crossing legally in a crosswalk. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/05/18/is_a_persons_life_worth_500_highway_traffic_act_says_yes.html http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/05/18/is_a_persons_life... Here are some quick examples I found: http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/12/driver_fined_500_after_killing_pedestrian.html http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/12/driver_fined_50... http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/13/toronto_woman_fined_500_for_killing_pedestrian_88.html http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/13/toronto_woman_f... http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/449137/man-34-dies-after-being-struck-by-car-in-sackville-crosswalk/ http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/449137/man-34-dies-after-be... And it's not just Ontario: http://gothamist.com/2011/07/14/unlicensed_dump_truck_driver_who_ki.php http://gothamist.com/2011/07/14/unlicensed_dump_truck_driver... http://gothamist.com/2014/04/09/drunk_driver_who_killed_brooklyn_pe.php http://gothamist.com/2014/04/09/drunk_driver_who_killed_broo... http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/11/11/unlicensed-driver-who-backed-over-and-killed-yolanda-casal-fined-500/ http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/11/11/unlicensed-driver-who-... Et cetera, ad nauseam.