In case you missed it, a British professor found himself wrestled to the
ground after jaywalking in Atlanta last week. It brought a giant smile to my
face to read this, not because of the thought of this man being accosted in this
way. Rather, it’s because I know from personal experience that Brits don’t like
the entire concept of jaywalking at all. In fact, a jaywalking ticket issued to
my British wife led directly to me writing this post here in cold, rainy England
at the moment rather than warm, sunny, glorious Southern California.
Let’s deal with the professor first. He jaywalked. A plain-clothed officer
stopped him. There were demands for ID from both sides. The professor ended up
on the street, pinned down by multiple officers and eventually spent eight hours
in jail. There are claims of
exaggeration by both sides.
My story — or that of my wife’s — is different. I’ve been granted
permission to communicate her tale. Back when we lived in Southern California,
we often shopped at Triangle Square
in Costa Mesa (a square that’s a triangle? Yes, it’s a triangular shaped mall.
Deal with it). It’s either dead or
dying now. But in its heyday, there were tons of shops, including a Gap.
Parking at Triangle Square sucked. No one likes going into the parking
structure. Instead, it was common to park across the street in a big shopping
center’s lot. Then people would run across the street to the stores.
Costa Mesa disliked this. They stuck of barriers trying to prevent you from
doing it. Instead, they wanted people to walk a fairly long distance (for
Southern California, like 100 to 200 feet or so) to a signal controlled crossing
at either end of the block.
My wife, like many others, didn’t do this on the day in question. She ran
across the street and found a swimming suit (excuse me, swimming costume) on
sale at an excellent price. Thrilled with the money she’d saved, she jaywalked
again in a state of shopping bliss. That abruptly ended with a Costa Mesa police
officer issued her a jaywalking ticket.
Gone was the savings on the suit. I think the ticket cost her like $60. But
more important, she declared the entire concept of jaywalking insane and the US
crazy for having it. Perhaps I slightly exaggerate. But we’d talked about
heading back to the UK to live for some time. This was a defining moment when
she said that she wanted to go back now.
See, Brits just aren’t rational about it. That’s my theory. Think I’m off the
mark. Check it out:
What every Brit should know about jaywalking. That’s just out from no less
than the BBC, trying to help the Brits understand the crazy ways:
Just because you can do something in the UK doesn’t mean it’s OK in another
country. Jaywalking is an offence in most urban areas in the United States -
although enforcement varies between states - and Canada, and in places such as
Singapore, Spain, Poland, Slovenia and Australia….But there is no such offence in the UK, where it is considered a personal
responsibility to cross the road safely (although London mayor Ken Livingstone
last summer proposed making jaywalking illegal). The Highway Code recommends
that all pedestrians abide by the Green Cross Code: "Where there is a crossing
nearby, use it. Otherwise choose a place where you can see clearly in all
directions."
Mind you, try to cross some of the actual intersections in Ken Livingstone’s
London and you’ll go insane. Giant metal fence route you away from natural
crossing points, because these aren’t deemed safe. And heaven help the
pedestrian who fails to realize that you have no right-of-way in Britain.
Ironically in car-crazy California, pedestrians have the right-of-way even if
they were stupid enough to end out in the middle of the street. In the UK, cars
just pull out on sidewalks in front of you without hesitation.
It drives me crazy. But not as crazy as jaywalking to the Brits, it seems.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! Being from Brooklyn, NY I only know how to Jaywalk. Around here it is the only way to get around. Glad they don’t enforce it around here.
In Austria people will sit at a cross walk light waiting for it to turn green in the middle of the night on a back road with no cars around. I’m not sure if the cops enforce jaywalking offenses there, but the people there sure take it seriously and will even sneer a little bit if they see you jaywalk.
Danny I feel your pain. I am a So Cal resident with a European wife - Austria. To my loving extended family I am the crazy American, having to answer for all the silly goings on in the U.S. and especially for us nutty Californians.
My Mother and Father in law are great people and they, like many Euro’s, enjoy their drink and smoke. So one night while in an old town San Diego pub my father having a snifter of Cognac lights up a smoke and is promptly told to put it out or go outside. He goes outside with his drink to have the smoke, and is told he can’t drink outside, but he can smoke outside. A few minutes pass and I notice he has disappeared. Later I find out he had to sneak out behind the bar amongst the trash cans to enjoy his drink and smoke together.
I routinely get asked by my extended family if America is so free, why do we have so many damn rules? You can’t smoke in public, you can’t drink, you can’t drive fast, you can’t show a breast on the beach and you can’t even reprimand your children without the fear of the parent police calling 911. That’s not a free country!
My own run in with the law
One day many years ago I was riding my mountain bike down in Pacific Beach. I rode up onto the side walk to a bike rack to park and I hear this whistle. I look up and there’s a cop about 100 yards away pointing at me. He comes up and gives me a ticket for riding 5 feet up on the sidewalk. I have to go appear in court the next day. So there I sit with about 200 other San Diegans in a general assembly to hear my charges and give my plea. The bailiff calls out your name and your offense and you go up to the font to enter your plea. Before me, they call out a laundry list of righteously foul charges ranging from public nudity, to drunken brawling to good ole DUI. Then they come to me, Mr. Nordstrom, a long pause, many heads turn to see what could have befallen a Nordstrom in So Cal… and then the serious charge of riding a bicycle on a public walkway pierced the hall. The chuckles started, the snickering, then the snorts and straight out belly laughs bellowed through the room and I had to stand up and walk the walk of shame to the font and state my plea. In those few moments my competitive nature almost took over, I could have been drunk whilst I road my bike! I thought, Hey I could have even taken a swing at one of the finest city’s boys in blue, a bicycle chase ala O.J. may have even ensued. But no I held my head low and entered a guilty as charged plea. I fortunately was given a delayed judgment and so long as I didn’t run afoul of the sidewalk police again in the next 6 months I could keep my bike license.
Yes, I feel your pain Danny, but no matter how ridiculous the laws and the people San Diego will always be my home.
Discovery
I moved to the States from Scotland 20 years ago. My one and only brush with the law took place during my first week here. I just parked my car and saw my mates on the other side of the street and ran across to join them as there was no traffic in sight.
Enter policeman “allo allo, wot ‘ave we here then” (or American equivalent) I proceeded to get a 15 minute lecture on jaywalking. I had never even heard of it. Luckily he let me off with a warning and not a ticket. (I think it had something to do with the fact that he couldn’t understand a word I said!!) All part of the joy of learning to live in a different culture I suppose.
I’ve never completely understood the reasoning for jaywalking rules as they’re applied in the US. Yes, I understand and agree with the times when a pedestrian walks out in front of cars on a busy street — they should be written tickets then.
But, I’ve seen cops write tickets when no other vehicles are in site, or during nighttime hours when downtown streets are all but deserted. What’s the rationale for that? I think if we’re going to have jaywalking laws, they should be quite a bit more specific to when/where they’re needed. Perhaps signs should be posted in busy downtown areas that state that it’s a jaywalking enforcement zone or something.
I had an interesting jay walking experience in Germany.
When I had first moved there (and barely spoke any German yet), I was blissfully jaywalking and a mother (with two kids on tow) started yelling loudly at me. I didn’t quite understand what she was saying, but let’s just say it wasn’t a friendly greeting.
I later learned that, at least in Germany, it’s not necessarily awful to jaywalk, but heaven help you if you do so in front of (impressionable) children.
You’ve got to realize that in America they give out stupid tickets like those for jaywalking to raise revenue, not for safety. Think of it as being an arbitrary tax.
“In the UK, cars just pull out on sidewalks in front of you without hesitation.”
That’s right. Unfortunately, in some places, once the pedestrian steps off the curb, they’re in play!
OK, here we are — june 2009!
Last time I was in London I’m with my son and friends, and we’re in some(?) financial district and he leads us off tyhe sidewalk to cross the street, to j walk, in the middle of the block, and a cop car stops for us!
I’m from LA, and really don’t believe it’s happening! My UK friends just takes it in stride (pun intended) not even noticing my concern.
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