# Jaywalking is not a crime **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 19, 2001, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531 "2001-09-19T04:15:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![the\_gullywumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@the\_gullywumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_gullywumper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/1 "2001-09-19T04:15:08Z")
jaywalking is not a crime. humans were here before cars-talk about your right of way ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/2 "2001-09-19T04:18:53Z")
Actually, it is. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/3 "2001-09-19T04:19:44Z")
In my town, jaywalking IS a crime, though people seldom get ticketed for it. It’s also fairly stupid to say “I have the right of way!” when a 40 ton truck is barrelling down the road. But hey, think of it as evolution in action (as Niven and/or Pournelle would say). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/4 "2001-09-19T04:21:05Z")
Excellent logic. Wire fraud is not a crime! Vehicular Manslaughter is not a crime! Skateboarding is not a crime! You get the picture. Haj ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/5 "2001-09-19T04:28:30Z")
Not skateboarding is a crime! If jaywalking was a crime in China, half the country would be in jail. Man, these people have jaywalking down to a fine art. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/6 "2001-09-19T04:29:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*Skateboarding is not a crime! > \*\* \ I keep seeing this as a bumpersticker and it irritates me that I have no _idea_ what it means. Who ever said that skateboarding _is_ a crime? What town jails someone for riding a skateboard? What _are_ they talking about? \ Fenris ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/7 "2001-09-19T04:30:10Z")
Jaywaling **is** a crime. William Taft was here before 10-10-321. Talk about your non sequitor. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/8 "2001-09-19T04:34:15Z")
Fenris, I dont know if you are serious or not, but assuming you are: Many places such as strip malls and shopping centers and parking lots have posted signs that state “No Skateboards”. Apparently those zany kids can really tear up some concrete if they do their flippy things too much or too hard or something. Kids skate there anyway. Then police come. Then they get escorted off the property or citations in some cases. Their shirts and bumper stickers should say “Skateboarding is not a crime, but trespassing and skating on private property is sometimes.” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/9 "2001-09-19T04:41:53Z")
Thanks **Mouthbreather**. I’d guessed it was something like that, but I wasn’t really sure. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/10 "2001-09-19T04:41:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > > \*\*Skateboarding is not a crime! > > \*\* > > \ > I keep seeing this as a bumpersticker and it irritates me that I have no _idea_ what it means. > > Who ever said that skateboarding _is_ a crime? What town jails someone for riding a skateboard? > > What _are_ they talking about? > \ > Fenris \*\* \This came out of the early 1980’s and the phrase was popularized by the skateboarding magazine Thrasher. Skateboarding is actually against the law in many places. Many skateboard shops at the time used to proudly post tickets on the wall, stuff like going 45 mph on a skateboard in the street. Merchants, parking garages and others started posting signs up that said “skateboarding is a crime.” Quickly skaterats started making up stickers saying “skateboarding is not a crime.” The more creative ones cut up the stickers to say “not skateboarding is a crime.” Now this phrase has really become mainstream. \ ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/11 "2001-09-19T04:52:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by China Guy \* > Skateboarding is actually against the law in many places. I know it goes against pit-iquette to ask for cites, but where is it illegeal to skateboard? (I am assuming by places you mean towns/cities etc, and not parking decks/strip malls etc) ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/12 "2001-09-19T04:54:01Z")
Spelling illegal as _illegeal_ is not a crime! ---
**Author:** ![Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/0ea827/32.png) [@Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod_Beeblebrox)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/13 "2001-09-19T04:54:46Z")
“Crime,” when referring to jaywalking, is not an inaccurate term per-se, but it does seem a bit strong. I think “infraction” would be more fitting, somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/14 "2001-09-19T05:06:39Z")
Jaywalking isn’t just a crime, it’s a dirty damned disgrace. Shame, shame, shame. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/15 "2001-09-19T05:09:25Z")
> [@](#): > > William Taft was here before 10-10-321. You mean he’ll be 1680 years old come October 10th? ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/16 "2001-09-19T05:11:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > William Taft was here before 10-10-321. > > You mean he’ll be 1680 years old come October 10th? \*\* No, he’ll be 1680 years old **before** October 10th. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/17 "2001-09-19T05:25:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by China Guy \* > > Skateboarding is actually against the law in many places. > > I know it goes against pit-iquette to ask for cites, but where is it illegeal to skateboard? (I am assuming by places you mean towns/cities etc, and not parking decks/strip malls etc) \*\* google is your friend. I haven’t skateboarded in the US for well over a decade so perhaps some of the younger dopers can chime in here. The following is a link to [Seattle’s Municipal Code](http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=&s2=skateboard&S3=&Sect4=AND&l=20&Sect1=IMAGE&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=CODE1&d=CODE&p=1&u=/~public/code1.htm&r=4&Sect6=HITOFF&f=G) [fixed link, or tried to anyway-bibliophage] [Edited by bibliophage on 09-19-2001 at 12:54 PM] ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/18 "2001-09-19T05:26:25Z")
Hey, I was playing it safe, since it wasn’t specified how _long_ before the set date he’d turn the big one-six-eight-zero. Heck, he might be 1680 _now_… wouldn’t that be creepy? ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/19 "2001-09-19T05:55:37Z")
China Guy: Google is my friend when I know what I am looking for (and know what you are referring to). As I stated in my last post, I didn’t know if you meant towns or specific areas within towns. And I couldn’t get your link to work, although my friend google helped me out with a “skateboarding illegal seattle” search. SPOOFE: I thought that everyone knew he was kickin it legit back in 307. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. Now, was someone talking about The Blue Jays? Or was it breakdancing? Oh, JAYWALKING. yeah, not a crime. right. _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![blur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dbc845/32.png) [@blur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blur)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531/20 "2001-09-19T07:15:13Z")
Where I grew up, in the mid-eighties, early ninties, skateboarding was a crime where I lived. The stance in towns around me has changed, and a lot of them have skate parks as a place to hang out for the kids. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jaywalking-is-not-a-crime/82531.md?page=2)