Anyone else think we should legalize jaywalking?

deftron

Lifer
Nov 17, 2000
10,868
1
0
It's a free country, right?

Sometimes, you can't make it down to the intersection when you're in the middle of a block.


Just take away any potential liability from drivers and let people
cross at their own risk, if not in a cross walk.


 

chambersc

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2005
6,247
0
0
your free speech ends at my nose

aka

your freedom to walk across the road ends at my bumper

aka

me hit you = your fault for walking in middle of road.
 

deftron

Lifer
Nov 17, 2000
10,868
1
0
Originally posted by: chambersc
your free speech ends at my nose

aka

your freedom to walk across the road ends at my bumper

aka

me hit you = your fault for walking in middle of road.

THATS WHAT IM SAYING, brother!


But it should be the pedestrians choice to take that risk!
 

gsaldivar

Diamond Member
Apr 30, 2001
8,691
1
81
Originally posted by: deftron
But it should be the pedestrians choice to take that risk!

That's pretty selfish, don't you think?

You standing in the middle of the road also presents a danger to drivers and their passengers.

Is it your choice to risk of killing somebody's family because they rolled their car trying to avoid hitting you?
 

deftron

Lifer
Nov 17, 2000
10,868
1
0
If it was legal and understood that driver will not be at fault, they wouldn't
have to try to avoid hitting you.

People want to jaywalk, they can.
People happens to get hit by car jaywalking, they lose.



I just think it will increase productivity and save time



People get hit in intersections, and we let them cross there.
Either way, the pedestrian has to make a judgement call.
 

gsaldivar

Diamond Member
Apr 30, 2001
8,691
1
81
Originally posted by: deftron
If it was legal and understood that driver will not be at fault, they wouldn't
have to try to avoid hitting you.

Please explain how legalizing jaywalking reduces the danger posed from hitting a person standing in the middle of the road.
 

montanafan

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 1999
3,551
2
71
"If it was legal and understood that driver will not be at fault, they wouldn't
have to try to avoid hitting you."


I think that most people would still take evasive action to avoid running over someone even if the law says it's not a problem. :)
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
Originally posted by: deftron
It's a free country, right?

Yeah, right, what have you been smoking?

This is a country where oral sex is illegal in some places, even between husbands and wives. If that's illegal, how can we even pretend to live in a country that values "freedom"?
 

deftron

Lifer
Nov 17, 2000
10,868
1
0
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Originally posted by: deftron
It's a free country, right?

Yeah, right, what have you been smoking?

This is a country where oral sex is illegal in some places, even between husbands and wives. If that's illegal, how can we even pretend to live in a country that values "freedom"?

If the Prez can do it in the White House, I should be able to
get my Hoover on in the local Motel 6



 

judasmachine

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2002
8,515
3
81
I think we should legalize the running down of jaywalkers. Wait are we in OT all of the sudden?
 

Necrolezbeast

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
838
0
0
not trying to thread steal or anything...but what about seatbelt laws? I am 20 years old and have recieved 3 "no seatbelt" tickets in 1 year, upon these violations I have recieved a piece of paper with the list of violations and their fine information. Upon reading this paper I notice that it is $75 for a no seatbelt ticket and only $50 for a NO CHILD RESTRAINT ticket. WTF is that? My local govt. thinks that me choosing that if I am to get in an accident and possibly die or something else is considered worse than me chosing to buckle myself up but have a kid standing on my lap, causing the 3 year old child to lose their life? Something is wrong with that one, and if I chose to not wear my seatbelt it seriously does hurt noone else but potentially myself. I vote that if I get a kid killed by that sort of neglect, or even potentially put a child in that situation I should get fined to all hell...

About jaywalking though, by walking down the middle of the road you are causing people to react and are puting others at risk. Although, I jaywalk all the time and don't do stupid things that could put myself or an unaware driver in danger. It's more of a jayrun when no cars are around when I do it. Most of society isn't stupid enough to go play frogger on the 6 lane highways...but I do have some good theories on a human frogger game that can rid of many stupid people of the world :)
 

OFFascist

Senior member
Jun 10, 2002
985
0
0
Is jaywalking even illegal in most places?

I cant say that I've ever heard of it being enforced in Texas.

IMO crossing at an intersection is far more dangerous than crossing in the middle of the road.
 

randym431

Golden Member
Jun 4, 2003
1,270
1
0
Yea, you could legalize it. Makes a lot more road kill.

Its time they banned call phone use while driving. Thats my gripe. Every single time I see some driver unaware the light has turned green (just sits there). Or someone driving very very slowly. Or making lane changes without even looking. Every time I see this, the person is on a cell phone. Face it, people are just to dumb to drive and cell talk at the same time.

And people with DVD players in their dash. Dont get me started!
 

PatboyX

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2001
7,024
0
0
jaywalking is a gateway crime.
soon they will be murdering children to satisfy their law-breaking bloodlust.
 

RedCOMET

Platinum Member
Jul 8, 2002
2,836
0
0
If someone was jaywalking and got it, it won't be becuase its entirely the jaywalkers fault. The person driver the car should have been in control of said car, and therefore could have avoided the jaywalker. If the driver was not in control of the car and not following the posted signs, then the driver should be at fault.

This seems to go back to the thread about "if a driver hit a dog that ran into a street beucase its leash brok while somebody was walking it, is the driver responsible for the dogs death..." or something like that.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,742
6,761
126
Your freedom to legislate inside the tip of your nose should not apply when your nose is up somebody else's ass.

How about we legalize jaywalking for marijuana and let it walk across our brains as long as we don't hurt anything. Imagine the kinds of assholes who think they should have the right to control how a conscious being medicates without regards to that nose thing.
 

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
60
91
That might be fun. Just put a big grill on your suv and make it open season on jaywalkers. There was a movie like that.
 

miketheidiot

Lifer
Sep 3, 2004
11,060
1
0
pedestrians have the right-of-way on my campus, but then again its a college campus.

i don't even think about walking into traffic, it was hard to adapt this summer.
 

coomar

Banned
Apr 4, 2005
2,431
0
0
I know in ontario that jaywallking is one of those "crimes" that are optionally enforced, you'll get charged if you do something stupid, like run in from of an 18 wheeler or piss off a cop
 

Tsunami982

Senior member
Apr 22, 2003
936
0
0
they should make it like right turns on red. when its safe, you can do it. if you get hit, well then apparently it wasnt very safe.
 

MicroChrome

Senior member
Mar 8, 2005
430
0
0
Peds ALWAYS have the right away (It's one of the top rules at the DMV I think the question comes up more than once)... If you hit a ped it's your fault esp if he/she is in a cross walk. How would you feel if you killed someone? Worse yet, what if the family that you hit had $$$ and sued you or hanged your ass out to dry for using your car as a deadly weapon? Happens all the time.... All they need to do is prove you were not paying attention or speeding etc...etc...

I think way too many people that use cross walks and side walks are getting hit from idiots on cell phones, trying to figure out how to work the radio, putting on makeup or reading the sunday paper. I think we should stiffen up the laws for peds.
 

eilute

Senior member
Jun 1, 2005
477
0
0
No. Jaywalking should be kept illegal. It should not be strictly enforced either.