Jenny thinks jaywalking is dangerous and tries to stop me but I'm undeterred. I've been jaywalking all my life and I've never yet been hit by a vehicle. Ironically while Jenny was jaywalking for a few minutes yesterday she slipped and fell and got a few minor injuries.
It helps of course that jaywalking isn't illegal in the UK so I'm not going to end up in a police station.
I see it's illegal in most US states and in Canada, though people aren't too fussed and prosecutions are fairly rare, usually resulting in no more than a smallish fine.
One reason I jaywalk is that the pedestrian phase on some street crossings can take quite a while to appear and I can't be bothered to wait for it.
So why is it called jaywalking? I gather the word jay refers to a gormless hick from the countryside and the term jaywalking was coined by the auto industry to blame pedestrians for accidents. How very sneaky of them.
Nick ,
ReplyDeletethis reminds me when as a student in Paris (where jaywalking was a game) I witnessed an accident , a young man was hit by a car , thrown in the air and died before help arrived. Up from that moment I never jaywalked again and this in all countries I lived in or visited. Really really dangerous.
Hannah
Hannah: As I said, I've never been hit by a vehicle while jaywalking so I shall continue. What amazes me is people who jaywalk when they're drunk or while they're engrossed in their smartphone.
DeleteNick,
Deletewell not drunk, no smartphone in those years just a young man and just a car with high speed. I wish you luck and do not understand your explanation. You have no reason to hurry at your age and should have enough time to wait for the green light to cross.
Hannah
Hannah: I often jaywalk when there's no visible traffic in either direction. What's wrong with that? If a car is going at high speed and might hit me then of course I would wait till it's gone past.
DeleteThe police will stop you here in Las Vegas for Jay walking, it is illegal and the fine is usually around $160. You still see people doing it all the time here though. I hope she didn't get too hurt.
ReplyDeleteMary: Luckily Jenny only had minor cuts and bruises. Clearly the police are quite strict about jaywalking in Las Vegas.
DeleteIn Canada, I was miffed at a friend who jaywalked on a busy street, was stopped by police, and then jaywalked minutes later. Part of my problem with jaywalking is the (Emmanuel) Kantian test: 'What if everybody did it?' I told my friend I didn't believe in streets full of people and cars both like in India, but for him such reasoning "didn't count."
ReplyDeleteSean: Ah, but everybody isn't doing it! I'm very careful when I jaywalk to leave a huge amount of space between me and any approaching vehicles. And I don't jaywalk when there's a bus or a lorry in the vicinity.
DeleteIt bothers me when I see kids jaywalking in our town. It's a four-lane route and people often go faster than the speed limit. I had a friend who was fined for jaywalking when we were on a school trip to Washington DC. It still makes me laugh to think about it. He was our class valedictorian.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: It's certainly dangerous for children to jaywalk, as they may take careless risks that adults wouldn't take. I wouldn't jaywalk on a four-lane road as that really is dangerous.
DeleteOk Nick,
Deletebut children should be told to never jaywalk, even if adults are not a positive example or may be you are not jaywalking when children are around.
Hannah
Hannah: But suppose you're on a road with no nearby street crossing or traffic island. How would you get across the road without jaywalking?
DeleteNick,
DeleteI thought that in towns there were zebra crossings and traffic lights , may be not in the countryside.
I hope you will never faint in the middle of a road or have another health problem which can always happen.Jenny is right and for you
It seems to be no risk no fun.
Hannah
Hannah: I think we have to agree to disagree on this one, we obviously have very different viewpoints.
Delete