aywalking Decriminalization Is Coming, 100 Years After the Auto Industry Helped Make It a Crime
21st December 2020
Most countries would consider the concept of jaywalking a scam that Americans have been conditioned to believe is normal. In the Netherlands, for example, traffic engineers and urban planners have actually worked to lower the country’s curbs so as to encourage people to cross wherever they like.
Before the advent of the automobile, pedestrians in America were widely recognized as having the right of way in all situations. The road to car culture’s dominance in the United States was literally paved with blood — drivers had already killed some 200,000 people by 1920. In response, auto industry groups launched a “jaywalking” campaign to place blame for collisions on pedestrians rather than drivers.