Jay Walking (time for U.S laws ?)

[John the Monkey]

I am not taking any member of the crow family for a walk, they are all quite capable of getting there quicker by other means.

If this degnerates into an "african or european crow...?" riff, I'm ignoring this thread.

 

[John the Monkey]

I propose a twofold approach

1. Try to avoid walking in front of moving vehicles.
2. Try to avoid hitting pedestrians with your vehicle.

This is just crazy enough that it might work.

 

[subaqua]

On a daily basis I see women pushing prams full length down the centre of Bus Station bus lanes, as if they own the road.
I also cyclists riding up & down them & through the stands etc.

I see pedestrians walk deliberately at vehicles to cross the road, even when there is a pedestrian crossing 5 or 15 yards away & lights for traffic are green.

I see baby buggies hanging over kerb edges or pushed into the road as if said buggy is a forcefield with which to stop traffic, again quite often only a very short walk to a safe crossing point.

For fear of retribution I will not say how I see so many of this type of pedestrian craziness but can assure you that I do more often than most.

In the USA & Germany also (i am told) there are jay walking laws to protect motorists or cyclist etc from such fools & just wondered what the opinions of CC members might be.

Do these laws work ? Are they a deterrent to pedestrians ?

I don't know of any figures/facts but would think a great many accidents are caused by such people, where motorists or cyclist might have to take evasive actions & then be involved as a result, maybe with pedestrian getting away scot free.

These are my opinions, I don't seek validation or approval for them & remain (to a degree) open minded.

Thanks for any opinions posted back.

there are already bylaws in place which will cover the situations in the 1st 2 points . thats why and how the signs are there .
point 3 is just stupidity but the legislation for ped crossings is poorly worded and is used as a defence by incondierate gits.

if you drive correctly ( or cycle correctly for that matter) then you should be anticipating the movements of more vulnerable road users. you can see a lot if you look

 

[Fubar]

As I said on another thread I regularly walk through Edinburgh for 30 minutes (or more) and sometimes the safest place to be as a pedestrian is the bus lane/road, esp during Festival/Festive periods. I don't walk into traffic or force traffic to avoid me, I take a common sense approach and assess the risk for myself - if in the future I get killed taking this approach I will have no-one to blame but me.

EDIT: well except perhaps the B*****d that does me in.

 

[Fnaar]

I got shouted at by a NYC cop for starting to cross while 'walk' sign was not showing. Thankfully, didn't get pinned to the ground, and I had no peppermints with me anyway.

 

[Brandane]

Is it against the law in the USA? Oooops! I'm there just now, with bike, and have been using the wide roadside paths that other cyclists use (no-one cycles on the roads that I have seen, certainly not in the urban areas).
Obviously using these paths involves a lot of crossing of junctions, some traffic light controlled. I've just been doing as I do at home. If it's safe to cross, then cross, regardless of the lights.

 

[Markymark]

Short answer: no








Long answer: nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[SteCenturion]

Allegedly due to pressure from the motor industry:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26073797

Like motorists need any further encouragement to believe that they own the roads.

Lighthearted: Look, a cat doing something cute. Somewhere on the internet. You might have to look hard to find it, though.

Excellent link @BrumJim

read through the article, lot's to think about in there & just the sort of response I hoped for.

Thanks.

 

[Brandane]

As for Britain.... Why do they keep bringing in new laws which are entirely meaningless when it seems that no-one is enforcing either the new or existing laws?
I believe it is illegal to:
Drop litter.
Allow your dog to crap on the pavement.
Shout and swear in public.
Park illegally.
Exceed the speed limit.
Use your phone while driving.
Etc. etc..

 

[Sara_H]

I'd go the opposite way. I'd make it law that anytime pedestrians are waiting to cross the road, motorised vehicles should stop to let them across and not start again until they've got to the other side.

 

[TVC]

It works like this:

Some nobbers drive cars.
Some nobbers ride bikes.
Some nobbers don't know how to cross the road.

Watch out for the nobbers.

 

[Elybazza61]

With the advent of mobiles and peeps wearing headphones (walking and cycling) it has become worse;there's a turning/junction I have to make on my short ride from work to the station which is just after a bridge(and it's very tight at the best of times) and people just don't look when crossing and I 've nearly hit some bods meandering across.And before anyone says I should be more aware it's a bit tricky when someone steps out even though I've slowed down and indicated and you wouldn't want to stop as it's a narrow bridge with just enough room for cars either side.

Oh and don't get me started on people walking straight at you on a path while I'm just walking along.

 

[Profpointy]

As for Britain.... Why do they keep bringing in new laws which are entirely meaningless when it seems that no-one is enforcing either the new or existing laws?
I believe it is illegal to:
Drop litter.
Allow your dog to crap on the pavement.
Shout and swear in public.
Park illegally.
Exceed the speed limit.
Use your phone while driving.
Etc. etc..

People are regularly convicted and punished for all the above. Of course, some people get away with it, as they do for murder and theft. That's not to say there's no law, nor is it "not enforced".

 

[tyred]

It works like this:

Some nobbers drive cars.
Some nobbers ride bikes.
Some nobbers don't know how to cross the road.

Watch out for the nobbers.

They should bring in anti-nobber laws.


Lock up the nobbers and throw away the door. Or should that be throw away the key

 

[Brandane]

I'd go the opposite way. I'd make it law that anytime pedestrians are waiting to cross the road, motorised vehicles should stop to let them across and not start again until they've got to the other side.

No traffic would ever move on our local main street! As it is, there are pelican crossings every hundred yards or so, yet people are too lazy to use them. They just wander across randomly with their children in tow, growling at any car driver who might have the audacity to point out the provision of crossings.