Jaywalking at the Police Station...

[elfs]

This morning, I was walking toward work. There's a police station that I often walk past-- not always, as there are many routes from the train station to the office-- and today, just as I got to 8th and Virginia, the light turned against me and I had to wait. Another man was standing there, bouncing on his feet, watching the traffic. A cop came out of the Starbucks there and walked up behind us. The other man was clearly anxious to cross, waiting for a clearing in the traffic, bouncing energetically. The cop and I exchanged looks.

The man took three steps out and the cop whistled. "Hey, buddy," he said. He jerked his head with a 'come here' motion. "Just wait. It'll change."

When it did, the man and I walked across the intersection. The cop walked the other way. "Gotta be careful," the man said.

I mean, really. Jaywalking at the police station, how stupid is that?

Comments

[autopope.livejournal.com]

"Jaywalking" is a weird made-up American crime.

Doesn't exist over here.

Pedestrians have priority on all roads, except motorways (where they're strictly forbidden).

(This doesn't mean you should randomly cross anywhere; just, that wheeled vehicles are not supposed to hit you if you're in the road, and you should ideally use a pedestrian crossing if you're within range of one.)

[elfs.livejournal.com]

The odd thing is that, if you do hit a pedestrian here, the law comes down very hard.