Readers React: How jaywalking can be safer than using crosswalks and traffic lights

To the editor: I have been jaywalking for the past 30 years. I find it so much safer than walking inside marked crosswalks. (“Cars are running over people left and right. So why is LAPD targeting pedestrians and not motorists?” Opinion, Aug. 6)

When I jaywalk I am so much more mindful of what is going on around me. I also know that this is no time to be looking at my cellphone or anything else. This is where pedestrians get into so much trouble.

My observations over all these years have been that drivers and pedestrians can be so careless at traffic signals. When motorists see a green light, they tend to ignore that there is also a sign for pedestrians giving them the right of way before drivers can make their turns through the crosswalk. I have also noticed many pedestrians ignoring the red hand flashing at them while cars have a green light. Instead, many walkers seem to focus only on the green light.

One solution, already in use elsewhere, is to have pedestrians crossing in all directions while all cars are stopped, and vice versa. When motorists and pedestrians only focus on traffic signals, they don’t realize they are gambling with their lives.

This brings up another benefit of jaywalking: It has made me much more aware of traffic signals and motorists when I do use the crosswalks.

Benny Wasserman, La Palma

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To the editor: I’ve been walking a mile to and from work for the past four years. It did not take me long to understand that pedestrians are virtually invisible to drivers and must walk defensively.

Every day I witness drivers failing to yield. Some speed up to turn before I can make it into the intersection, and others are just oblivious. I make eye contact with any driver turning right or left before I enter the intersection, just to make sure I am seen.

Of course, there are some absent-minded walkers out there too. But it’s important to remember that drivers are surrounded by thick body armor, and pedestrians are completely exposed. One careless move that would dent a bumper might kill a pedestrian.

Shen Boucher, Pasadena

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To the editor: I have been both a pedestrian and a driver in Los Angeles for more than 50 years. Recently, I’ve noticed a big change in the behavior of pedestrians.

Far too many many of them cross while talking on their phones or texting. It is the responsibility of pedestrians to pay attention, and walkers can be just as distracted as drivers. In fact, drivers’ carelessness makes it all the more important that pedestrians pay attention. It is common sense.

I think California pedestrian laws give people a false sense of security. When you step into the street, you should behave as though your life depends on your awareness — because it does.

Richard Linnell, Beverly Hills

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To the editor: The Los Angeles Police Department’s reference to pedestrian-vehicle “collisions” is like saying a fly “collides” with a swatter.

In my view, the reason the LAPD goes after pedestrians rather than cars is that it is so easy to trap a someone crossing the street, and much more difficult to ticket a driver in a moving vehicle. Cops succumb to laziness, just like everyone else.

Barbara Marcus, Beverly Hills

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