Would you be in favour of the UK introducing a Jay Walking law?

Posted by Magicwiper@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 53 comments

I don't mean random small quiet roads but making people wait to cross only if they have a green light or use a zebra crossing in built up areas.

I ask because I live in a quite urban area and the lack of crossing etiquette is shocking, people regularly just walk out into traffic without looking. Today as soon as I had a green light two teenagers stepped out in front of the car at a crossing.

In a country like Poland for example you would get fined for doing such a thing and it generally makes people more responsible when crossing roads.

I understand it would be very hard to police but would surely improve road safety.

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JumpinJackCilitBang@reddit

The recent 'hierarchy of users' changes to the Highway Code did pretty much the opposite of jaywalking law.

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No_Chemist2922@reddit

Nope, even with current advances in technologies (face recognition etc.) it's just way too costly and difficult to enforce it.

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yiddoboy@reddit

There is an obsession for introducing new laws at the moment it seems, which completely goes against the principal of Common Law, which is, everything is legal unless expressly stated otherwise. There needs to be a very good reason for introducing new laws and it seems many people want to diminish those reasons until we are forbidden to do anything.

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taskkill-IM@reddit

Can't even run into traffic anymore... woke nonsense

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yiddoboy@reddit

I take it that's sarcasm ? Lack of cmmon sense doesn't have to be made illegal.

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taskkill-IM@reddit

No, but a lack of common sense resulting in being knocked down by a car, results in the driver being liable.... it's less about protecting pedestrians and protecting drivers.

I had a lad about 6-7 year old riding his bike flew around the corner near my house into my side of the road and I had to slam on and missed him by a few inches... if i would've knocked him down, without a dash cam I have to prove he just appeared from nowhere.... I lose my license and potentially end up with a criminal record depending on the severity of the incident after knocking him down.

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yiddoboy@reddit

And making it illegal stops a 6-7 year old doing that how exactly ?

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taskkill-IM@reddit

Forces their parents to teach their children the importance of road safety, because it seems to be a thing of the past, and running across the road or flying round corners on bikes have become the social norm.

I said in another post, but the amount of times I've seen parents run across the road with their kids... I remember as a kid my parents would wait at the crossing until the lights went red and traffic stopped before crossing the road, to ingrain it into my brain that this was the proper way.

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LadderMadeOfSticks@reddit

You're the one in the 1-Ton Metal Machine, you're the one that should have to be more careful.

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Professional-Crew657@reddit

If only the average car was indeed one-ton. 30 years ago maybe. Your point is of course perfectly sound

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taskkill-IM@reddit

Idiotic logic.... if a car is meant to be on the road then crossing without right of way is your responsibility tp be careful.... did your parents ever teach you common sense?

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huskydaisy@reddit

The UK has a Jay Walking law, in NI: If a pedestrian through his own negligence on a road endangers his own safety, or that of any other person, he is guilty of an offence.

Seems like a far more common sense approach than restricting the lawful movement of millions of people. Either way, I don't believe it would ever be enforced well enough to stop people wandering into the road.

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escapingfromelba@reddit

Pedestrians have right of way, you are working off a false premise.

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steerpike_is_my_name@reddit

The law in the US was introduced when the auto industry scrambled to shift the blame for pedestrian casualties from drivers to walkers.

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BlundeRuss@reddit

Don’t be ridiculous

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CensorTheologiae@reddit

No. As Wikipedia puts it, "the US automobile industry and associated organizations undertook public campaigns to frame pedestrians, newly impugned as jay-walkers, as a problematic element in the new automotive age".

Times have changed. Now we should be legislating to make drivers a "problematic element". Reclaim the streets, as it were.

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shin-chan@reddit

No. I am moving from one place to another in my natural state and have a right to do so if I deem it safe.

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External_Writer_1@reddit

Don’t give the government ideas on how to make more money from normal working class people.

Give them ideas on how to tax the ultra rich instead.

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asmiggs@reddit

The person in the big metal box is relatively safe and should not be given legal advantage over people crossing the road.

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RobCarrol75@reddit

No, because we actually have common sense. I was in Atlanta last month and it was fun to cross completely empty roads while others waited like numpties until the light came on.

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staunchs@reddit

No, most people have common sense.

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taskkill-IM@reddit

I wish that was true to be honest.

Road safety isn't practiced anymore, and the amount of times I see parents grabbing their kids by the hand and run across the road without waiting for the light to go red is more than I should have to witness.

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Evening-Web-3038@reddit

UK introducing a Jay Walking law?

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Iforgotmypassword126@reddit

No, police don’t even bother coming out if you’ve had your bike nicked. I don’t want the equivalent of traffic wardens waiting to fine you for walking across an empty road.

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jamnut@reddit

No 99% of the public are fine with walking across a road at a time convenient for them and a motorist. Imagine the amount of traffic lights and zebra crossings that would have to be built/painted.

So far I've got a 100% success rate at crossing the road without it

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No_Group5174@reddit

The road up to our nearest village has no pavement or grass verge to walk on. It is literally hedge..road..hedge. And there are miles of road around here like that.

How would that work with a jaywalking law?

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Temo2212@reddit

When I moved here and saw this chaos on the roads I thought I landed somewhere in south asia but now it became so normal for me the flawless traffics of germany or other simmilar countries kinda annoy me lol

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Parker_Borders283739@reddit

No. What is wrong with you?

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Unusual-Art2288@reddit

How would it be enforced?

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jibbit@reddit

no it's drivers in their two tonne death machines that need to follow the rules

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silentv0ices@reddit

No. Please stop trying to remove others freedoms.

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Rojoste@reddit

No. We’re not America

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ExternalNational@reddit

That sounds horrible

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stargasm420@reddit

Doesn't sound like a popular idea

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signol_@reddit

No. If anything, all urban roads should be treated as zebra crossings..

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imnotabotimafreeman@reddit

no, we're fine as we are thanks

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nick_red72@reddit

You should be able to cross any time it is safe, especially in urban ateas. Much easier with the 20 mph limit that is being rolled out. I'd really like to see higher driving standards, if anything.

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Chelz91@reddit

No. I am in London I have places to go and people to see

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baeworth@reddit

I would honestly hate that, we do not need to be policing people that much. I also don’t think it’s THAT much of an issue in the uk in terms of incidents? It can be alarming for motorists sure but that’s life. I don’t think we should be slapping laws onto everything

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Chopsticks_Charlie@reddit

Police state vibes

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OkPea5819@reddit

No and even if it was a good idea it would never be policed.

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MrReadilyUnready@reddit

No, crossing the road shouldn't be an offence.

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Ziphoblat@reddit

No, they’re a terrible idea.

You can’t practically go for a jog in a city in Poland, for example. Every 30 seconds you’ll hit another set of lights, and not be able to cross because there is a red man, even though there is a huge gap between traffic. The police will sometimes hide around the corner in the dead of the night waiting to fine people crossing the road when there isn’t a car in sight.

Not a system we need.

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PenneTracheotomy@reddit

No. I don’t think enough people would follow it. I also don’t know if your example is all that good as it sounds like you weren’t moving, so not really a safety issue, just a bit annoying

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KittyGrewAMoustache@reddit

No it seems silly. People can figure out when to cross a road safely. You’d think the likelihood of being run over and maimed or killed would be enough to stop people from crossing will nilly when cars are coming. If that’s not enough then I don’t see how a law would do anything! If they cross at a stupid time when cars are coming then they learn the hard way I suppose.

Although it’s not nice for the innocent driver who mows them down, maybe a law where if you walk out in front of a car you have to pay for three years of trauma therapy for the driver and any bystanders.

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NotoriousP_U_G@reddit

It depends on how the law is written. If jaywalking is darting out in front of busy traffic, then sure.

If it is crossing the road anywhere that isn’t designated, then absolutely not.

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