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What every Brit should know about jaywalking
The moment of his arrest
In the UK no one would bat an eyelid. In Atlanta, you could be wrestled to the ground.
It is a cautionary tale for any traveller - distinguished historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto tried to cross the road while in Atlanta for the conference of the American Historical Association, only to find himself in handcuffs and surrounded by armed police.
"I come from a country where you can cross the road where you like," said the visiting professor of global environmental history at Queen Mary College, University of London. "It hadn't occurred to me that I wasn't allowed to cross the road between the two main conference venues."
The bespectacled professor says he didn't realise the "rather intrusive young man" shouting that he shouldn't cross there was a policeman. "I thanked him for his advice and went on."
The officer asked for identification. The professor asked for his, after which Officer Leonpacher told him he was under arrest and, the professor claims, kicked his legs from under him, pinned him to the ground and confiscated his box of peppermints.
Professor Fernandez-Armesto then spent eight hours in the cells before the charges were dropped. He told the Times that his colleagues now regard him as "as a combination of Rambo, because it took five cops to pin me to the ground, and Perry Mason, because my eloquence before a judge obtained my immediate release".
Not every jaywalking Brit abroad will be similarly blessed, nor enjoy the intervention of the city mayor.
Culture clash
Just because you can do something in the UK doesn't mean it's OK in another country. Jaywalking is an offence in most urban areas in the United States - although enforcement varies between states - and Canada, and in places such as Singapore, Spain, Poland, Slovenia and Australia.
JAYWALKING
Pedestrian who crosses without regard to traffic regulations, who steps out anywhere other than a specified crossing, without a green light
Word originated in the US in early 20th Century
'Jay' was slang for a newcomer unfamiliar with city ways
In Brisbane, police have begun doling out fines after complaints from motorists involved in near-misses with jaywalkers. In Beijing and Shanghai, city officials have clamped down on jaywalkers in an attempt to improve public behaviour ahead of the 2008 Olympics and 2010 World Expo respectively.
But there is no such offence in the UK, where it is considered a personal responsibility to cross the road safely (although London mayor Ken Livingstone last summer proposed making jaywalking illegal). The Highway Code recommends that all pedestrians abide by the Green Cross Code: "Where there is a crossing nearby, use it. Otherwise choose a place where you can see clearly in all directions."
In Germany and the Netherlands, the onus is more on the motorist. Not stopping for pedestrians on crossings is an offence, and a driver can be issued with a ticket even if they are waiting on the kerb (again, the expectation is that pedestrians should cross safely).
Stick to the path
Some road safety campaigners claim that with traffic heavier, where light phases are timed to allow as many vehicles through an intersection as possible, pedestrians are increasingly taking risks in order to cross the road.
At least Prof Fernandez-Armesto can relax in the knowledge that it's not just outsiders who commit such heinous offences as crossing the road where they please.
Back in 1915, the Atlanta Constitution reported that the practice of "jay walking" was all too commonplace.
"People cross the streets any and everywhere, without regard to traffic, darting in front of fast-moving motor vehicles, dodging horses and street cars, and even braving ambulances and fire apparatus with no satisfaction except the consciousness that 'they did it,' and then having plenty of time to turn and contemplate the danger they have escaped."
Having been carted off in a "filthy, foetid paddy wagon" as the professor described it, that last observation was one denied to him.
The moment of his arrest
In the UK no one would bat an eyelid. In Atlanta, you could be wrestled to the ground.
It is a cautionary tale for any traveller - distinguished historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto tried to cross the road while in Atlanta for the conference of the American Historical Association, only to find himself in handcuffs and surrounded by armed police.
"I come from a country where you can cross the road where you like," said the visiting professor of global environmental history at Queen Mary College, University of London. "It hadn't occurred to me that I wasn't allowed to cross the road between the two main conference venues."
The bespectacled professor says he didn't realise the "rather intrusive young man" shouting that he shouldn't cross there was a policeman. "I thanked him for his advice and went on."
The officer asked for identification. The professor asked for his, after which Officer Leonpacher told him he was under arrest and, the professor claims, kicked his legs from under him, pinned him to the ground and confiscated his box of peppermints.
Professor Fernandez-Armesto then spent eight hours in the cells before the charges were dropped. He told the Times that his colleagues now regard him as "as a combination of Rambo, because it took five cops to pin me to the ground, and Perry Mason, because my eloquence before a judge obtained my immediate release".
Not every jaywalking Brit abroad will be similarly blessed, nor enjoy the intervention of the city mayor.
Culture clash
Just because you can do something in the UK doesn't mean it's OK in another country. Jaywalking is an offence in most urban areas in the United States - although enforcement varies between states - and Canada, and in places such as Singapore, Spain, Poland, Slovenia and Australia.
JAYWALKING
Pedestrian who crosses without regard to traffic regulations, who steps out anywhere other than a specified crossing, without a green light
Word originated in the US in early 20th Century
'Jay' was slang for a newcomer unfamiliar with city ways
In Brisbane, police have begun doling out fines after complaints from motorists involved in near-misses with jaywalkers. In Beijing and Shanghai, city officials have clamped down on jaywalkers in an attempt to improve public behaviour ahead of the 2008 Olympics and 2010 World Expo respectively.
But there is no such offence in the UK, where it is considered a personal responsibility to cross the road safely (although London mayor Ken Livingstone last summer proposed making jaywalking illegal). The Highway Code recommends that all pedestrians abide by the Green Cross Code: "Where there is a crossing nearby, use it. Otherwise choose a place where you can see clearly in all directions."
In Germany and the Netherlands, the onus is more on the motorist. Not stopping for pedestrians on crossings is an offence, and a driver can be issued with a ticket even if they are waiting on the kerb (again, the expectation is that pedestrians should cross safely).
Stick to the path
Some road safety campaigners claim that with traffic heavier, where light phases are timed to allow as many vehicles through an intersection as possible, pedestrians are increasingly taking risks in order to cross the road.
At least Prof Fernandez-Armesto can relax in the knowledge that it's not just outsiders who commit such heinous offences as crossing the road where they please.
Back in 1915, the Atlanta Constitution reported that the practice of "jay walking" was all too commonplace.
"People cross the streets any and everywhere, without regard to traffic, darting in front of fast-moving motor vehicles, dodging horses and street cars, and even braving ambulances and fire apparatus with no satisfaction except the consciousness that 'they did it,' and then having plenty of time to turn and contemplate the danger they have escaped."
Having been carted off in a "filthy, foetid paddy wagon" as the professor described it, that last observation was one denied to him.