If you're jaywalking you are lawbreaking

Warwick—It seems like a harmless thing to do—walk across the street. We learned how to do it when we were small children: Walk to the corner, look both ways, and go. Somewhere along the way, things change. We get busy; we get lazy. We also learn that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So, we don’t go to the corner, or to the crosswalks. And it’s happening everyday in the village. Mayor Michael Newhard says jaywalking is getting out of control. At a recent meeting, Newhard said he sees it every day on Main Street. As mayor, his headquarters is Village Hall. As business owner, he can be found at Newhard’s The Home Source. “Jaywalking is against the law,” Newhard said. According to New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1151B, “No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impractical for the driver to yield.” Though it’s illegal to jaywalk, Town of Warwick police Sergeant Chris Cockburn said, seldom, if ever, are summonses handed out in most places, including Warwick. Cockburn agrees with Newhard: Jaywalking is dangerous and much too frequent. ”I’ll concur with the mayor,” said Cockburn. “People run out from between parked cars all the time. The crosswalks are put there so drivers can see them. I’ve seen elderly people do it, and people pushing baby carriages. It’s a problem.” If the law is enforced, you could pay a stiff penalty. Jaywalking is handled the same as a traffic ticket. Police issue a summons and you go before a judge. In some countries, jaywalking is treated as serious crime. In Singapore, for example, first offenders may face a fine equal to $285 U.S. and three months in jail. Do it again and you’re facing a fine of $2,000 or six months in the pokey. Closer to home, you probably won’t do jail time, but the fine could cost a jaywalker a few hundred dollars or more, Cockburn said. Using crosswalks is a much better deal. According to the National Safety Council, 5,900 pedestrians are killed each year by vehicle traffic. Another 84,000 suffer non-fatal injuries. Nearly one-third of these victims are children under the age of 15. Only a small percentage of these people are injured in crosswalks. The Village of Warwick has done its job when it comes to making crosswalks both visible and numerous. Throughout the village, many crosswalks are brightly painted to stand apart from the roadway. Signs have been posted in the middle of the street reminding drivers to stop for pedestrians in a designated crosswalk. Walk outside of the crosswalk and we’re talking a whole new ballgame. ”Any person crossing a street must yield to a vehicle unless they are in a crosswalk,” Cockburn said. “It is the responsibility of the pedestrian to stop for a car, if they are not in a crosswalk. You have to use the marked crosswalks.” “Jaywalking” is used to describe someone who crosses the street without regard to traffic statutes, that is, outside of the designated crosswalk. Historian Peter D. Norton says that the Chicago Tribune used the term first in print in 1909. “Jay” is a slang term meaning stupid or dull, or a person from a rural area not familiar with the ways of the city. At the time, vehicles and traffic signals were just gaining popularity in larger cities. “Jaywalker” was used to describe newcomers unfamiliar with city ways. Although jaywalking offenses are not commonly punished in the village, Cockburn said Lake George police are strict about jaywalking. “There is a police officer on every corner during the vacation season giving out tickets,” said Cockburn. “It is a resort area and their pedestrian traffic is probably tenfold what ours is.” Cockburn said he never jaywalks. Honestly. “It’s just not worth it,” he said. “For the few seconds it takes to walk to a crosswalk, it’s not worth the risk.” He said people have been hit by cars jaywalking in the village over the years. It’s not common, but it has happened. One young mother admitted she is a reformed jaywalker. What turned her around? Her three-year-old son. ”I will admit that I used to jaywalk,” she said, not wanting to be identified. “I changed my ways when I started leading my three-year-old by the hand through town and taught him about the crosswalks. Now, if I step a toe into the street without being at crosswalk, he promptly reminds me that we’d be breaking the rules.” ”Just look at it as you would any other rule of the road,” said Cockburn. “It would be like if you were in a car and you came up to a stop sign. You stop. You might be in a hurry, but you stop. Just use the crosswalks.”