Recognizing Reality

A hundred years ago, jaywalking was a made-up offense.

In 1926, a study of traffic included the statement “all persons have an equal right in the highway, and that in exercising the right each shall take due care not to injure other users of the way.” Old pictures of even a street as busy as Broadway (seen here in 1860) show pedestrian mostly staying out of the driving lanes but not being fastidious about it.

Horses, given the chance, will avoid people in their path; cars have no such instinct, travel faster, and are piloted by people who may behave erratically. The various industries that were promoting cars in the 1910s coined the term jaywalking to stigmatize pedestrians for thinking they had a right to the road. In many towns and cities – quite notably including New York – the stigma didn’t stick and pedestrians continued to walk around vehicles.

In any case, New York’s jaywalking law is now defunct. In a sad commentary on the way things work, it wasn’t repealed because it makes no sense, it was repealed because it was apparently being unevenly applied (tickets were being given) based on race. From the New York Times article I linked to: “About 92 percent of the 463 people who received summons last year for crossing a street against a signal were Black or Latino, according to city records.” Based on my experience as a pedestrian, and jaywalker, that does not sound remotely like a representative sample.

So, everyone, walk free. And watch for drivers, because you can’t be entirely sure they’re watching for you.