Do people jaywalk because it is cool?

Depends on the street and traffic. Shorter side streets that still have signals, but no traffic? I'm crossing whenever if nobody is around. Major intersection I generally wait for signals, and even if there are no cars I'll use the cross walk.

Only city I've ever been to and seen zero jaywalking was Tokyo. People followed those signals like robots, no matter the traffic.

It's criminal where I live but I do it all the time and no one enforces it.

Plus I don't jay walk like an asshole, I make sure it's safe to go and don't just cross in front of traffic. If it's a busy road, I will go to the signal and wait. If it's a neighborhood road or not a main road, I'll look both ways and cross if I know I can make it without impeding traffic.

If there are no cars coming, why would I wait for it to let me cross? Just cross the road...

I jaywalk like a champ, but only after looking right, then left, then right again.

I've seen people throw caution to the wind and just cross. Those are the cool people.

the worst is walking with a group of people and half of them will refuse to jaywalk even when the street is empty

I never understood people just waiting for the light with no traffic in sight except maybe people with disabilities and old people.

But everyone else, why?

The continuted vilification of jaywalkers has to be one of all-time greatest marketing campaigns ever run. Nearly 100 years later and here we

The forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of "jaywalking"

jph139 said:

But locals have some sort of sixth sense for traffic, and start walking the moment a break in traffic appears.

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Former New Yorker, can confirm. Being raised even in the suburbs gives you an acute sense of how long you'll take to cross, where cars are in relation to you, and the timing of the traffic lights.

My college roommates thought I was a god.

Sometimes I prefer to cross in the middle of the street, because then I only have to look for cars coming from two directions instead of four, plus I don't have to depend on a driver to not blow through a light or a stop sign. I've been crossing at an intersection thinking the guy with a stop sign would slow as he approached and... nope! That's scary. If I'm in the middle of a block I'm only crossing when I've got distance.

People jaywalk because streets are designed for cars and are poorly designed for walkers.

My mom jaywalked in Cleveland and a cop got in her face and shouted insults at her. She's pretty cool honestly.

mute said:

Not saying that just walking out in the road without looking isn't stupid, but if I'm driving through my college campus while class is in session, I don't expect pedestrians to behave the same way as in the burbs.

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He's not talking about driving through campus though. The student mentality persists outside of the borders and into regular street traffic.

I'm in the UK so jaywalking isn't really a thing. I cross because I know it's safe but usually I do wait for the lights to change.

It honestly blows my mind that there are countries where this is a crime.

If the road is clear or if I have plenty of time to cross I'm not waiting for the fucking light.

15-30 seconds across multiple blocks can save quite some time.

People are just lazy and/or impatient. It bothers me as a driver, but I'd be lying if I said I've never done it before. At the very least, I make sure to do it when there are no cars nearby.

I ride a rapping skateboard against traffic while smoking a cigarette and eating a slice of pizza. I'm the coolest kid you wish you knew.

Jaywalking at a university isn't a big deal, especially if traffic is low. I only take issue if the person has their head down looking at their phone and they're oblivious to the car that's coming their way. In fact jaywalking can save everyone time if done effectively. If I'm at a 4 way stop and I just crossed and there's another car crossing where I want to cross, I just walk an extra 10 feet and cross behind them (if there aren't any other cars). Saves them the time of having to wait for me to cross, and no one else has to wait for me. I routinely jaywalk to cross a street that isn't busy because the 4 way intersection is super busy, so I can just cross once, walk 100 feet, then cross a place at where there isn't any vehicles.

Also I feel like rolling stops at universities are a way bigger issue. Like half the town doesn't even come to a full stop when the place is loaded with pedestrians. It's a real problem.

I'm okay with jay walking, I just want people to be safe and considerate. A stream of people blocking traffic just to get somewhere a little earlier doesn't fall under considerate to me.

Comvenience and apathy mostly.

i lived in nyc for 7 years, i dont even think about it

That 15 seconds makes a big difference, especially if you're going somewhere where you might otherwise have to wait for that multiple times. But it comes down to local culture mainly, in London or NYC it's just a fact of life while in a place like Tokyo no one would ever think to jaywalk, no matter how clear it is. As long as you're doing what everyone else is you'll be fine

i do wat i want fuck the man

i live in a city. i cross where i want.

Khrol said:

Jaywalking is a way of life here in DC

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This. OP clearly doesn't live in a city.

It never once has popped into my head

This is the most Era thread title possible, I swear.

Baconmonk said:

Only city I've ever been to and seen zero jaywalking was Tokyo. People followed those signals like robots, no matter the traffic.

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When I was visiting Tokyo, someone showed me a neat trick: If a foreigner starts jaywalking, the Japanese will actually follow. The reasoning being that only the foreigner will get a ticket if the cops see it.

It worked, and it blew my mind.

What you're describing is crossing against the signal, not jaywalking. Jaywalking involves walking in the middle of the street and in some places is perfectly legal unless you are impeding the flow of traffic.

Most of the intersections here aren't safe because cars will just keep turning even if you're walking across. I stood in the middle of one until the light went red because the cars kept coming.
I really don't like playing chicken against cars, so I just jaywalk further down the street.

I jaywalk because it doesn't exist in England (or at least it didn't when I lived there). People are simply trusted to look both ways and cross the road when there are no cars coming.

joylevel11 said:

I'm in the UK so jaywalking isn't really a thing. I cross because I know it's safe but usually I do wait for the lights to change.

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I was just thinking about this. I'm also in the UK. I'll cross roads if there are no cars coming but if I'm at a pedestrian crossing I won't go until that man turns green, regardless of if there are cars coming. It's weird.

Tygre said:

Jaywalking is a bullshit American-only* crime made up by car manufacturers. There's nothing wrong with breaking an unjust law.

*Well, not quite only, but close enough.

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yil

Origin of the term

An anti-jaywalking poster created in 1937 as part of the United States WPA's Federal Art Project
The word jaywalk is not historically neutral. It is a compound word derived from the word jay, an inexperienced person and a curse word that originated in the early 1900s, and walk. No historical evidence supports an alternative folk etymology by which the word is traced to the letter "J" (characterizing the route a jaywalker might follow).

While jaywalking is associated with pedestrians today, the earliest references to "jay" behavior in the street were about horse-drawn carriages and automobiles in 1905 Kansas: "jay drivers" who did not drive on the correct side of the street. The term swiftly expanded to pedestrians, and by 1909, The Chanute Daily Tribune warned "The jay walker needs attention as well as the jay driver, and is about as big a nuisance."

The word was promoted by pro-automobile interests in the 1920s, according to historian Peter D. Norton.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking#Origin_of_the_term

so back in the day, when the streets were shared, before the cars took over, people walked as they pleased. automakers then started public and lobbying campaigns taking more rights for drivers as the overlords of the streets.

take back the streets; jaywalk more.

Saving time is pretty cool.

Depends where you live.

Most people here will jog across, considerate of traffic. Then there's the younger assholes who somehow think they're above everyone who didn't also get fired from whataburger.

I witnessed a guy and his hilariously pregnant wife just saunter across the street not twenty feet from the crosswalk. I nearly hit them. Cuz i wasn't expecting some dipshits in the middle of a three-lane road.

I do it incessantly, probably because it's a shorter walk to my destination

No I do it to save time

Jawywalking at the lights is stupid. Pedestrians should follow traffic lights. Jaywalking from one side to the other at places with no traffic control (with the road being clear) is not something I have any issues with.

Zoe said:

He's not talking about driving through campus though. The student mentality persists outside of the borders and into regular street traffic.

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Probably splitting hairs here but as far as pedestrians at my university go they covered the campus proper + several blocks surrounding it, because people walk to/from off campus apartments/restaurants/whatever and the behavior is the same. Doesn't really make that much of a difference, just am extra careful near campus. And my time there was pre-smartphone, can't imagine what it is like now.

jay said:

I cross the street when I need to. Fuck your laws.

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This is being overlooked.

bangai-o said:

The light will literally give us the walk signal in about 15-30 seconds, so it doesn't exactly save them any time

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So it does save them time

Zoe said:

They think they're invincible. People have died jaywalking near the university here, and the police have done stings, but the students continue to do it.

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So obviously hold pedestrians responsible, not the ones running them over.

Baconmonk said:

Only city I've ever been to and seen zero jaywalking was Tokyo. People followed those signals like robots, no matter the traffic.

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Drunken Tokyoites at night beg to differ.

Coming from the UK, jaywalking is one of those laws that just makes no sense. If there's a big gap, just walking seems absolutely sensible.

Like, if I'm out for a run from my hotel early in the morning and there's next to zero cars around, do I have to stop and wait for the light at each crossing?

lunarworks said:

This is the most Era thread title possible, I swear.


When I was visiting Tokyo, someone showed me a neat trick: If a foreigner starts jaywalking, the Japanese will actually follow. The reasoning being that only the foreigner will get a ticket if the cops see it.

It worked, and it blew my mind.

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That's hilarious.

A bit off topic, but still in the realm of public space. I saw a younger Japanese man push himself onto one of the late busy trains near Shibuya and an older gentlemen pulled him aside, scolded him, and seemingly apologized to the woman that the younger man pushed away. Very different values about conducting yourself in public.

andymcc said:

Drunken Tokyoites at night beg to differ.

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I'm sure there are exceptions, but was night and day compared to other large cities like NYC or Paris.

GK86 said:

In NYC, people look at you funny if you DON'T jaywalk.

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lol I was about to say this. If someone's standing at the corner, waiting for the light even though there are no cars coming, people standing behind that someone will most likely look clearly annoyed as they walk around them, lol.

MudoSkills said:

It honestly blows my mind that there are countries where this is a crime.

If the road is clear or if I have plenty of time to cross I'm not waiting for the fucking light.

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It was invented by car manufacturers, the whole stigma was heightened to prevent people from getting killed by cars illustrating how dangerous they were(cars), as well as avoiding legal responsibility. Pearl clutchers today are the same folks being played..https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7551873/jaywalking-history

Now its used to selectively police people. No one has a problem with it, as you can see, but its because the laws weren't intended to target them for chicken shit harassment. Usually, on era, the law is the fucking LAW.

Not today though.

BarrBarr said:

We're there any cars about? If not I don't see what the big deal is, but then again I Iive in the UK where jaywalking isn't a thing.

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Yeah, when I read about jaywalking in the seventies when I was young I couldn't really work out why this was a problem. In the UK you just cross the road in a sensible way. From the sixties this was promoted to children in primary education and public information broadcasts. A decade or so later the advice had been reformulated as the Green Cross Code, which put much more emphasis on looking and listening at all times.

So I just cross the road (in the UK) when I feel safe. I will routinely cross on the red pedestrian light when I'm sure I'll be safe.

The UK has a pretty impressive road safety record. I conclude that jaywalking isn't a thing.

If I do not see any cars nearby I will cross the street wherever I damn well please.

WhiteRabbitEXE said:

So obviously hold pedestrians responsible, not the ones running them over.

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It's not always the driver's fault.

GK86 said:

In NYC, people look at you funny if you DON'T jaywalk.

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Haha, Chicago too.

The fuck you gonna wait at a red light for if there's only a few/no cars coming?

Also, why would I walk all the way to a corner to get to my destination if it's in the middle of the block on the other side? That's just wasting my own time.