Apologies about the Google crack. I hate it when people throw that one in my face, and I just unthinkingly did it back to you.
You’re very fortunate. The body I have fails to operate after being rammed by tons of steel.
I suppose jaydriving cattywompus on a sidewalk isn’t a crime either?
Don’t get me wrong, I jaywalk too when it suits me but I also realize it’s a ROAD built for CARS & TRUCKS that I’m crossing.
Remember, 186,000 miles per second is not only the law, it’s also a good idea.
Maybe you should start a class-action suit? If people are able to take billions off the tobacco industry for not being immune to cancer, think how much money they can take off the car industry for not being immune to impacts!
:rolleyes:
Isn’t a driver usually at fault for hitting anything in front of the vehicle (ie, rear ending someone who stops short)? It seems that jaywalking is illegal so that drivers do not have to worry about going to jail for hitting some doufus who jumps out into the middle of traffic.
That and the fact that you’re crossing two axes of traffic, one of which would theoritically always be active at any given time.
No worries. 
In the state of Illinois, legally the pedestrian always has the right of way, even if he’s jaywalking. So if you ram someone who’s jaywalking, you’re automatically at fault.
And I’m fascinated by the fact that my public library has had a huge sign posted on the front door for years:
No Roller Blades
No Bicycles
No Skateboards
And that’s for inside the library. Am I the only one who wonders what actions by some particularly clueless library patrons must have prompted this action on the part of the librarian?
<extreme irony> As a former skatenik, who hung up his skate after blowing out my knee on a halfpipe in Taiwan when I was 30, I have absolutely nooooooo idea why this warning would exist. </extreme irony>
Stolen signs outside, I’d guess.
And jaywalking is a crime, but it is a human right given to us by LaGuardia himself!
You are on the right track. Here in NY it is called a “violation”. According to the NY Penal Code, a “crime” is defined as a “misdemeanor” or a “felony”. So if something is a “violation” (example: loitering) then by definition it is not a crime.
The only thing our library won’t let us do is make a collage.
But remember, you can be right, and yet still be dead or paralyzed. The driver may be paying your bills, but you’re still the one eating through a straw or pushing up daisies.
Not saying drivers > walkers, just saying that right-of-way does not wrap you in a shield of invulnerability.
The famous 60’s radical Jerry Rubin died in 1994 after being struck by a car while he was jaywalking. IIRC the driver was never charged.
The US Constitution says that anyone charged with a crime is entitled to a jury trial. It logically follows that any charge which one can not contested in front of a jury must not be a crime. Not that the law always follows logic.
The Ryan your logic is sound, but let me add this twist: In NYC, you are entitled to a:
Jury Trial. During a jury trial the facts of the case (e.g. the defendant’s guilt) are determined by a panel of jurors. In the New York City Criminal Court a jury consists of six jurors. A defendant has the right to a jury trial in all cases where the authorized term of imprisonment is more than six months. Any defendant entitled to a jury trial may waive that right and consent to a non-jury trial.
Non-Jury Trial. In the New York City Criminal Court, for offenses in which the authorized term of imprisonment is not more than six months, the case must be tried without a jury. During such a trial it is the judge who determines the facts of the case (e.g. the defendant’s guilt).
(if your confused about the six juror business it’s because NYC Criminal Court has jurisdiction for misdemeanors. Felonies get 12 jurors over at Supreme Court [usually called Superior Court or District Court in other states])
The point is that someone charged with a class B misdeamenor (maximum sentence = 3 months) cannot, in New York State, request a jury trial. They receive a bench trial.
Example: Trespass (to knowingly enter or remain unlawfully in or upon a premises) is a violation. Therefore, it is not defined as a crime. The maximum penalty is 15 days.
Criminal trespass in the third degree (to commit a trespass on fenced property, for example) is a class B misdeamenor, therefore it is a crime. But since the maximun penalty is less than six months, in NYC you cannot have a jury trial. You can only have a trial in front of a judge.
How they get around Article VI of the Constitution I’m not sure. I’d have to research it. The Constitution is not absolute (yelling fire in a crowded theater, where no such dire exists, is not protected Free Speech).
I guess I’ve gone way off on a tangent with this thing.
But roads are built for the cars, not the people (today anyway, no need for time travel and point out how roads were once built for horse drawn carriages and whatnot). When you step into the road, that’s the vehicle’s territory, just as the sidewalk is pedestrian territory and illegal for cars to go driving there.
Although, as DDG pointed out, some places the pedestrian always has the right of way. They told me that’s the way it was in San Antonio when I got stationed there.
Here in Boston, jaywalking is effectively legal. The penalty on the books is a $1 fine, so there is really no incentive to enforce the law. I believe Massachusetts is also one of the states where the pedestrian always has the right of way, even if they jump out into the road from hiding while not looking. Actually, I think this is the most common way of crossing streets here. If it were easier to do so, they’d probably fling themselves out of buildings to add to the element of surprise.
Neal Stephenson, “Snow Crash”. Now there’s some heavy persecution of stakeboarders.
Actually, I’m pretty sure the pedestrian only has the right of way while in the crosswalks. (I can see the signs in my head, “Pedestrians in crosswalk have right of way.” I realize that those signs don’t say anything about pedestrians not in the crosswalk … but there wouldn’t be a ticket (no matter how small) for jaywalking if pedestrians did always have the right of way, right?)
My driving instructor used to tell us that right of way was something you give, not something you take. In other words, pedestrains only have right of way if cars stop/slow down … it doesn’t matter what the case should be, because that’s the way it is.