At the end of October 2024, Russian-language Telegram channels reported that New York had abolished fines for crossing the road in the wrong place or when there is a prohibiting traffic light. It was alleged that the traffic rules were changed to combat racism. We have verified the accuracy of these reports.
“In New York, pedestrians were allowed to cross the street anywhere - even when it was red. It turned out that last year 92% of such fines were received by blacks and Latinos - this was considered racism,” the Telegram channel reported on October 30.Ax+"(1.8 million views at the time of writing this analysis). “Natural selection has started,” commented on the proposed change in the rules in the channel Voblya (132,000 views). The news was also discussed in Facebook and on entertainment sites.
The active struggle for pedestrian safety began in New York almost 70 years ago: in December 1957, then mayor city Robert F. Wagner launched campaign "Cross the street when it's green." Legislative prohibition on crossing streets in the wrong place or on a prohibiting traffic light started to act in New York in June 1958. By 2024, the fine for a corresponding violation was $250.
Discussions about repealing this rule were carried out in New York for over ten years. Supporters of this decision recalled that the law was originally introduced for the convenience of motorists and in fact has no effect on the road fatality rate. “In the UK, where there is no legal ban on jaywalking, the number of fatal accidents is one-quarter of the US level. Pedestrian deaths are also lower - in the UK there were 420 pedestrian fatalities in 2012, or about seven per 1 million people, while in the US there were 4,743, or about 15 per 1 million people." explained the need for decriminalization in 2014, lawyer Michael Levin. In addition, activists noted the bias of the police in relation to who should be punished for violations and who should not. So, for 2023, the NYPD wrote out There were only 463 tickets for jaywalking, and 92% of those fined were black or Hispanic, although these groups are together make up no more than 55% of the city's population. Similar statistics were recorded in other years.
In 2024, the New York City Council finally passed resolution, which decriminalizes the habit of many (including white) New Yorkers to jaywalk anywhere. However, its text does not say that the corresponding decision is motivated by the fight against racism. At the same time, the authors of the document urge citizens to be careful and remind them that they are not exempt from civil liability if their decision to cross the street in the wrong place leads to an accident.
During the discussion of the resolution, the initiator of the cancellation of fines, Mercedes Narcisse from Brooklyn, actually said: “Laws that punish common behavior should not exist, especially when they unfairly impact communities of color.” But before that she noted: “Let’s admit the obvious: all New Yorkers jaywalk.”
Thus, recently the New York authorities actually abolished fines for jaywalking, but this long-discussed decision, judging by the text of the relevant document, was not motivated by the fight against racism. Some activists and legislators have noted that the high proportion of people of color among those previously issued such tickets is due to police bias, since in fact many New Yorkers, regardless of skin color, did not comply with the law.
Cover photo: Pexels
Read on topic:
- Is it true that in Sweden drivers who do not break the rules participate in a special lottery?
- Is it true that Harris hit a teenager and fled the scene of the accident in 2011?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
