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Are you a chronic jaywalker? Allegedly some cops don't even know how to write a jaywalking ticket — the practice is so widespread in New York that people rarely get punished for it until, as the NY Post points out, they are pinned beneath a double-decker tour bus. One former cop explains, "Jaywalking is an urban cultural issue. There are certain cities where jaywalking has been accepted for 50 years or more, so to stop it is like trying to stop the tide from coming in. You can't address the whole culture through policing."
And people do love their jaywalking! A 58-year-old, possibly lonely, seasoned pedestrian declared to the paper: "I love jaywalking. It is the best thing to do. It is the only thing left in New York to do." That's some serious dedication right there.
So should jaywalking be more heavily monitored by the NYPD (who currently have no officers assigned specifically to the jaywalking beat)? Comedian Colin Quinn faced off with AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. for opposing opinion pieces on the habitual practice. The former argues: "Walking is our car. You need to jaywalk just to make the light. Let those clowns in LA hand out jaywalking tickets, not here."
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Home of the dodgers.
In New York City, jaywalking is not a crime, it's a basic human right!
Let's work on the whole speeding, running red lights, moving violations enforcement thing of steel and aluminum machines weighing upwards of 2 tons before we start handing out jaywalking tickets.
I swear to Pete, if I ever get a ticket for jaywalking, I will tear it up right in front of the cop. And tear up any consecutive tickets he sees fit to write me.
If they're not going to bother to ticket the cabbies and truck drivers and bicyclists who constantly violate the law in ways that put other people in serious danger, not just themselves (as jaywalkers do -- in a vehicle vs. pedestrian encounter, pedestrian always loses; maybe the only exception is bicyclist vs. pedestrian, but at least the bicyclist is [or should be] wearing a helmet) then I'd like the same treatment for breaking the law. That is: none.
Amen.
i commend you for that.
but then the post would be written on this blog, and all the idiot commenters would say dumb shit like "don't flaunt authority! you had it coming!"
But if a pedestrian manages to get hit by a vehicle due to his jaywalking, the driver gets screwed when the "victim" makes a claim against the driver's insurance and possibly sues him. Good luck finding a witness who will testify that the pedestrian was at fault. So jaywalkers absolutely do deserve a summons sometimes.
It depends. There's a big difference between crossing at a corner when no cars are coming and wading out into traffic in the middle of block as if to prove how fearless you are - the latter drives me nuts (when I'm driving) and deserves a ticket.
Double amen.
I stopped any jaywalking after I got hit by a car. And I was in a legal crosswalk at the time. Now I don't even feel safe on the sidewalk.
Agreed. There's a difference between crossing when it's safe to do so, and defiantly strolling across Sixth Avenue just to show drivers that you don't take no shit -- I see that surprisingly often, and it's annoying.
If you're just hopping across a street when nothing's coming, then I doubt anyone has a problem with it.
One of the best things about moving from Seattle to NYC was the fact that I no longer had to fear getting a ticket for jaywalking. The joke of the SPD take that stuff very serious
I don't care about jaywalking, or illegal U-turns for that matter, so long as the person doing it doesn't infringe on another person's rights. It's a matter of consideration. If you're jaywalking in front of me while I'm driving down a street, that's dicky. If you're doing a U-turn, and you drive like an idiot, and take forever to do it, and get in my way while I'm driving legally, that's dicky.
Am I the only person to ever get a jaywalking ticket in NYC? On Queens Blvd, right in the middle of Giuliani's Daily News-motivated crackdown on the "Boulevard of Death." It was 9:30 PM and not a car in sight. I crossed the boulevard at a spot where the nearest crosswalk was at least 300 feet away and got a ticket for "crossing outside the crosswalk." Not even for crossing against the light, just outside the crosswalk.
Did you know you have to go to court if you get a jaywalking ticket? 2.5 hours of waiting in Queens County Court for the judge to tell me to pay $25. What a pain.
Yes. You're the only one. But it sounds like you deserved it. Who crosses outside the crossing zone? Sheesh.
There are many times when it is rational to jaywalk, just as there are many times when it is rational for a bike to blow a red light.
What drives me nuts are when my fellow pedestrians step into traffic, completely oblivious, headphones on, without looking left or right. This is insane and I see it a lot more than I should in the morning.
I also get really annoyed when I see fellow pedestrians jaywalking when a bike is coming through the intersection and has the right of way.
Other than these two examples, I cannot imagine a fair reason to issue a jaywalking ticket.
EXACTLY.
It's crazy how people in some other cities don't jaywalk. I was in Milwaukee and with no cars in sight on a one way street, people were just standing there waiting while I went ahead and crossed.
In Boston the fine is 1$. This effectively stops police from writing tickets.
I jaywalk and have no plans to stop doing so as long as it's not foolish. That being said, I am also not going to stop running red lights on my bike as long as there are jaywalkers and other types of "illegal" pedestrian activity.
Jaywalking is part of our NYC culture and heritage, dammit.
My brother once told his girlfriend (from Florida), "If I waited for every light to turn green, I'd still be back in college!
What you have to look out for tho' is when one person crosses in time to not be hit, and a bunch of people (tourists!) follow blindly, without looking, trusting that it's safe. You have to look! It's every man for himself.
There's jaywalking and then there's that game of Chicken that rough-necks in the ghetto do with cars.
You're going down the street and some homeboy is swaggering across the middle of it like he's strolling through a bar looking for honeys.
That's the way they test their manhood, acting like they don't give a shit if they get mowed down. And if you have the nerve to slow down in front of 'em and look 'em in the eye, they give you that "Whatchagonnado!" gang sign.
Cops should write jaywalking tickets where they are warranted. Are you crossing an empty avenue or deserted side-street against the light? of course you shouldn't get a ticket. but anybody who says jaywalking isn't a danger to anybody except the jaywalker is, i'm sorry to say, an idiot.
Try driving up in Washington Heights. People walk into the street with absolutely no regard to the light or oncoming traffic. Drivers have to stop short and/or swerve to avoid them. It's a recipe for a massive traffic disaster.
People who walk into traffic definitely deserve tickets.
Actually, if there are any lawyers or cops out there reading this and can answer this question, i'm really curious to know the answer: if you are sober, driving the speed limit, and have the right of way, but still somehow hit a jaywalker, what penalties, claims for damages, or insurance fees are you still likely to face?
You are allowed to do whatever you want with your car, at any time, regardless of the risk to others. You can park it in bike lanes, you can wait in the crosswalk for the light to change, hell, you can go through the red light as long as it was green when you saw it first; you can kill someone crossing in a crosswalk and only get a citation for failure to yield; if they're not in a crosswalk there is no penalty whatsoever.
Remember, your car is personal property and therefore more valuable than life itself. It is also a symbol of your prowess, so if anyone touches it in a rude manner that gives you license to kill.
http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/peds-ndx.htm
Which traffic laws apply to pedestrians?
Pedestrians must obey traffic control signals, signs and pavement markings when they are crossing a street [Section 1150, NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law].
Pedestrians are not allowed on expressways or interstate highways.
What is the law regarding crosswalks?
When there is no traffic control signal, drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, particularly if a pedestrian is in a crosswalk, or there is potential danger to the pedestrian [Section 1151, NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law].
In addition, every driver approaching an intersection or crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian accompanied by a guide dog or a cane [Section 1153-c, NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law].
What if there isn't a crosswalk?
If there isn't a crosswalk, sign or signal at mid-block locations, a pedestrian must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway [Section 1152, NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law].
What about sidewalks?
The driver of a vehicle, when entering or exiting from an alleyway, building, private road or driveway must yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian on a sidewalk [Section 1151-a, NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law].
Pedestrians are required to use sidewalks where they are provided and safe to use. When sidewalks are not provided, a pedestrian is required to walk on the left side of the roadway facing traffic [Section 1156-b, NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law].
If you are sober, driving the speed limit, and have the right of way, but still somehow hit a jaywalker, what penalties, claims for damages, or insurance fees are you still likely to face?
Thankfully, none, if it can be proven within reasonable doubt that collision were unavoidable.
Nah, we need jaywalking laws on the books.
Sure, one has a better chance of getting struck by lightening than getting such a ticket. But hey, let's give all lawmaking authority to the ones who're supposed to be enforcing the law.
I mean, w/o selective enforcement, how are cops supposed to fill quotas? And target people they just don't like?
The more bullshit laws we have on the books that are rarely enforced, the more we're vulnerable to being selectively targeted for all the wrong reasons.
How about some diagonal crosswalks already?
As long as you're smart about doing it there should be no ticket.
Some people abuse it.
i've seen cops cross the street at a red light many, many times. it's what keeps the city moving. I think it applies to all of us.
I was in Santa Monica for a wedding a few years ago, and I crossed the street. Half a block later, a motorcycle cop was flagging me down. I took out my earphones and said, "What's up?"
"Can I see your license, sir?"
"But I'm not driving."
I hand him my license and ask if there's anything wrong.
"Did you do anything wrong back there?"
"Back where?"
"At the light. Didn't do anything wrong?"
"I don't know. I crossed the street."
"And the light was..."
"Red."
"Right. So you were jaywalking."
"There were no cars coming."
"Oh no? I saw one coming."
I asked him whether he meant the white sedan that passed me before I stepped into the street or the minivan that passed the other way before I had made it to that side of the road or the SUV that had been coming down the street but had stopped in front of the police station.
"I don't know what the car was. The light was red."
"Okay?"
"It's illegal to cross against a red light."
"What?"
"You didn't know that?"
"I live in New York. It must not be a law there."
"It's a law everywhere."
"Well, if it is, no one observes it. The city would grind to a halt."
And he proceeded to ask me, in all seriousness, if I would've crossed the street on red if there were no cars coming and a cop watching me from a parked car. I said I would, without hesitation, cross the street in that situation. He said he would give me a verbal warning, and then asked me if I hadn't noticed all the people waiting at red lights to cross up by the Promenade. I told him that I had thought they were all just lazy Californians with nowhere to be.
Once I got back home, I asked a couple of cops near West 4th if the law really did exist here. "Yeah, we got that law here," he said. I asked him why no one ever bothers to enforce it, and he laughed and said, "Are you fucking kidding? The whole city would grind to a halt."
I think that if these pedestrians want respect they should obey the law. They have this ridiculous sense of entitlement because they think walking is virtuous.
Don't ticket for jaywalking. Fine. But please also do not ticket when I decide to run over the ghetto thugs & other imbeciles who cross despite drivers having the right of way, making me wait longer so they can get to White Castle, Modell's or Best Buy.
Jaywalking aside, I think "You can't address the whole culture through policing" might be the most enlightened quote I've heard from a police officer in a while.
I'm a NYer, so you know I jaywalk.
When I visit my folks in Cali, I jaywalk too.
One time I got a warning from a cop and he told me, "this is not NY".
I make fun of some of my folks I know out in L.A.
They talk about Crips and Bloods and drive-bys but your afraid to jaywalk?
lol
I am a native New Yorker and most people here don't know how to walk across the street, instead they think they're playing a game of Frogger and get flattened. There's no cure for stupidity so there's really no need to ticket the jaywalker for he/she can't resist the urge to jump out in front of my truck and go splat when I have the right of way.
On the upside there's no ticket or jail time for me if the person has a deathwish. Maybe when some kid gets pancaked because his parents were to stupid to tell him otherwise, people may take notice...but I doubt it.