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Do you jaywalk?
Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, Development/Milestones: Babies, In The News
Sometimes, the stories here at ParentDish only serve to generate more questions. I wrote about a New Jersey police department that was cracking down on jaywalkers and handing out tickets to middle school kids. That got me thinking and I realized that, since I've had kids, I've kinda changed my ways when it comes to jaywalking.Before I had kids, I paid little attention to things like crosswalks and stoplights when I was on foot. I watched the traffic and went when and how it was safe (more or less) rather than when it was strictly legal. Yes, I've broken the law, crossing in the middle of the street and against the light. Not only that, but I did it habitually. There goes any hope I might have had of running for public office.
Now, however, I find that I don't do that sort of thing any more. I go to the crosswalk. I wait for the green light. I try to set a good example, because I have kids. I might feel like a colossal fool standing on a corner with absolutely no cars in sight, waiting to cross the street, but I figure that's better than spending time in the emergency room -- or worse -- after the kids try to make it across a busy street without waiting for a green light.
I suppose it's a small price to pay to make sure my kids are safe. I have been hit by a car crossing the street in the middle of the block and I don't want that to happen to them. How about you -- have you made similar changes since having kids? Do you jaywalk?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
9-29-2007 @ 7:53PM
april said...I'm just like you in the respect. My son older son is four and we have been reading and discussing road safety for a while now. In the past, I admit, I would have just crossed if the road was clear but I am very careful to always wait for the "green man" now and also cross even quiet roads at the right places in order set a good example (we live in the UK and the "green man" is the walk signal).
There are no "jaywalking" laws on the books here in Scotland, and they don't even use the term. They find it a curious difference that it is actually a crime in the US.
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9-30-2007 @ 2:33PM
Uly said...Funnily enough, the only people I know who have been hit by cars have been hit while crossing, with the light, at the crosswalk - by drivers who just weren't being careful.
That said, I was taught my whole life that it's just safer to cross away from the crosswalk, where people aren't starting to turn their cars right into where you are.
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