This Means Stop.

Hi!

I have an answer to you regarding Seattle, at least. In general, people tend to jaywalk more in larger cities where traffic is heavier. This is based upon personal observation.

There are psychological constants which apply to cities with 'scrapers. Jaywalking is one of them. I'm not going to go into that however, because Seattle has another reason.

Originally, Seattle didn't hold with jaywalking laws. The red was considered a warning, and since pedestrians have such rights that even if you hit them on a green light you'd still be at fault, jaywalking was relatively 'safe.'

I don't think there were even any 'walk/don't walk' signs on Seattle streets before the 80s.

Seattle also has a high level of individuality, where people feel that they can best judge when it's safe to cross. Considering Seattle's history of being largely empty at various points in time, and the astoundingly slow traffic lights, jaywalking was inevitable.

It's also a relatively minor offense, one that is frequently hard to uphold in court against any vigorous attorney. Freedom of movement is a constitutional right that is allowed to be abridged only upon 'stringent' requirements. Traffic lights don't usually rate, especially at 35 and under speeds.

The entire justification for said lights is to 'regulate the dangers of collisions between vehicles and persons' which causes the most harm, as in it is often fatal. A person stepping out against the light is choosing to take their own chances.

I come down on the side of freedom. If there is no oncoming traffic within half a block, where any normal person can EASILY walk across without impeding traffic, who cares?

This is different from stepping off the curb in heavy traffic and forcing 6 lanes to wait for you.

Additionally, the millions of people who cross the street every day manage not to get hit despite crossing before and after the 'walk' sign. That's technically jaywalking, you're supposed to stop when the sign starts flashing. Of these daily millions, jaywalking traffic fatalities in Seattle are rare. I know of no more than a few dozen per year at most.

Lights are not intelligent, and people are. I'm not in favor of making people obey machines. Machines should always obey the people.

If pushing the button didn't make me wait through a full cycle of the lights before I get the privilege of walking, I'd be more likely to utilize them. As it is, I simply avoid both walking and driving in Seattle.

I've forced job interviewers to meet me outside of Seattle, quite rightly claiming that it's impossible to guarantee that I could be there on time. I have near-universal acceptance of this request except from the largest of firms.

D