Jaywalking

[Jo]

Interesting. In England, where jaywalking is not illegal, there are 1/2 as many pedestrians killed as the U.S..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26073797

In Kelowna, if jaywalking were permitted, deaths would escalate until all jaywalkers were dead, I suspect.

[GordonH]

I not sure what laws if any for Jaywalking are in the books in Kelowna, I see it all the time here. Most seasons (Spring, Summer & early Fall) not huge deal, in snow/icy conditions those who Jaywalk are taking a risk crossing a busy street.

[Dizzy1]

of way between vehicle and pedestrian
179 (1) Subject to section 180, the driver of a vehicle must yield the right of way to a pedestrian where traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation when the pedestrian is crossing the highway in a crosswalk and the pedestrian is on the half of the highway on which the vehicle is travelling, or is approaching so closely from the other half of the highway that he or she is in danger.

(2) A pedestrian must not leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it is impracticable for the driver to yield the right of way.

(3) If a vehicle is slowing down or stopped at a crosswalk or at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the highway, the driver of a vehicle approaching from the rear must not overtake and pass the vehicle that is slowing down or stopped.

(4) A pedestrian, cyclist or the driver of a motor vehicle must obey the instructions of an adult school crossing guard and of a school student acting as a member of a traffic patrol where the guards or students are

(a) provided under the School Act,

(b) authorized by the chief of police of the municipality as defined in section 36 (1), or

(c) if located on treaty lands, authorized by the chief of the police force responsible for policing the treaty lands.

Crossing at other than crosswalk
180 When a pedestrian is crossing a highway at a point not in a crosswalk, the pedestrian must yield the right of way to a vehicle.

Duty of driver
181 Despite sections 178, 179 and 180, a driver of a vehicle must

(a) exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian who is on the highway,

(b) give warning by sounding the horn of the vehicle when necessary, and

(c) observe proper precaution on observing a child or apparently confused or incapacitated person on the highway.

Doesn't matter anyways, just another one of those things that never get enforced plus the driver is always in the wrong around here no matter what.

[Captain Awesome]

Doesn't matter anyways, just another one of those things that never get enforced.

Unless you're that Ford dude from Toronto.

[kgcayenne]

I see ducks who cross more safely than some people.

[Dizzy1]

I love the scraggly types and elderly who seem to think its just dandy to walk through the middle of the roundabout on 30th Ave in Vernon ... walk just a few more feet and you have a crosswalk with flashing lights. Lazy, stupid, selfish people.

[dodgerdodge]

I was travelling down Ellis yesterday towards Harvey and as i approached the light at Leon, which was green for me, i saw out the corner of my eye a tall guy just striding, quickly, and he doesn't stop at curbside, he keeps walking straight across in front of oncoming vehicles and i had no choice but to stop to avoid hitting the stupid jerk. I blasted my horn and he just gave the finger and carried on.

[GoStumpy]

I take a run at them ;)

[Bsuds]

I see ducks who cross more safely than some people.

In some cases the Ducks are smarter too.

[RichardW]

Being from England myself, jaywalking laws kind of baffle me. But then the BBC’s article does shed a bit of light on the subject. Usually if there is a law that doesn’t serve the greater public interest, big business has been behind it at some point.

Just one thing, however… If this forum is to be taken as a reliable source of information, then I read here that there is no law against jaywalking in Kelowna. My understanding (that I haven’t verified) is that jaywalking would have to be the subject of a bylaw, and in Kelowna no such bylaw exists. I could be wrong.

The problem with most of the rules of the road is that whilst they outlaw types of behaviour that may result in conflict, they infer inappropriate rights onto other road users. So with a jaywalking law, the motorist infers the right not to come across pedestrians in the road. That’s fine when there are no pedestrians in the road, but creates an obvious problem when there are, especially if they are vulnerable pedestrians who can’t fend for themselves.

Straying slightly from the topic, below is a You Tube video about the village (now a town) that I grew up in. You’ll see that ‘jaywalking’ is now actively encouraged. The road layout of a busy intersection has been converted into shared space, as has one of the adjoining streets. Notice the transformation from how the intersection was to how it is now. I can tell you, knowing the area and the way people think in the UK, this is a radical solution. If you are thinking that something like that could never work in North America, then notice the skepticism expressed by some early on in the video, and then see how completely unfounded their concerns turned out to be. The intersection is safer and more efficient for all road users. Also notice street footage from San Francisco at about 4:05 – that’s how the United States used to be when it was the land of the free!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vzDDMzq7d0

This transformation happened after I came to Canada, so I can’t speak with first-hand knowledge of the new road layout. But, on many occasions, I have waited as a pedestrian to cross the old layout, as well as waited in traffic as a motorist, cut in to another lane to try to get ahead of the traffic, raced away on the green light, etc. etc. It was a fairly obnoxious arrangement.

Here’s a video just of the new design in operation (for those who are retired/unemployed).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uD05uvWm5U

Go lobby the City!

[jimmy4321]

I think people believe crosswalks are some defence shield which they can mindlessly cross while the world stands still.
Of course that's not right, lot of cities got high crosswalk pedestrian accidents.
Jaywalking must keep the Britts on their toes

[Glacier]

Interesting. In England, where jaywalking is not illegal, there are 1/2 as many pedestrians killed as the U.S..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26073797

In Kelowna, if jaywalking were permitted, deaths would escalate until all jaywalkers were dead, I suspect.

Kinda like how banning texting while driving increases accident rates from texting?

P.S. There is no jaywalking bylaw in Vernon. All the dumb ones have been run over by now, so Vernon likely has a much lower rate of pedestrian fatalities than Kelowna.

[Dizzy1]

^^ nah, we just got the ones on the bikes now.

[Scadam]

I think people believe crosswalks are some defence shield which they can mindlessly cross while the world stands still.
Of course that's not right, lot of cities got high crosswalk pedestrian accidents.
Jaywalking must keep the Britts on their toes

I'll never forget the woman who pushing a stroller down the highway past ihop and pushed that stroller right out onto the crosswalk to reach that little pedestrian island without so much as a turn of the head or any hesitation. Just assumed those little white lines on the road were some sort of magical barrier... If a driver is drunk or stupid or careless or distracted she'd have a dead kid. Being on the right side of the law doesn't make you invincible and a ticket and harsh admonishment to the driver wouldn't bring back that kid. They were fine of course, but it stuck with me to think how strangely people can confuse right-of-way with physics.

[my5cents]

........Just one thing, however… If this forum is to be taken as a reliable source of information, then I read here that there is no law against jaywalking in Kelowna. My understanding (that I haven’t verified) is that jaywalking would have to be the subject of a bylaw, and in Kelowna no such bylaw exists. I could be wrong..........

No Richard, you are not wrong.

As was discussed at length in the forum "Jaywalking is not Illegal in Kelowna" : viewtopic.php?f=23&t=48721

First "jaywalking" is crossing a street within a block of a traffic light. Jaywalking is NOT when a pedestrian disobeys a red light at an intersection.

Most cities have a bylaw prohibiting jaywalking because without such a law, a pedestrian at an intersection facing a red traffic light just has to cross a few feet from the intersection and they'd avoid the fact they cross at a red light.

In Kelowna there is no such bylaw, so a pedestrian can just walk a few feet from the intersection and cross no matter what color the light is at the intersection. (Yes, I know it does make any sense)