Matt Novak at Paleofuture lays out a key moment in the development of Motordom in this post: The Invention of Jaywalking was a Massive Shaming Campaign.
He picks up on Peter Norton’s 2007 paper, “Street Rivals: Jaywalking and the Invention of the Motor Age Street,” in which he describes how ridicule was recognized early on as the best socializing force to control pedestrian behavior.
And then wonderfully illustrates it:
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Why the emphasis on jaywalking?
As Norton explains, “before the city street could be physically reconstructed to accommodate motor vehicles, it had first to be socially reconstructed as a modern thoroughfare.” And that social reconstruction meant redefining who belonged on the street, by poking fun at those who were seen as unwanted.
It worked: “By the 1920s, newspapers and auto organizations felt they could be openly hostile to pedestrians who were seen as reckless on city streets.”
Novak also provides a recent example of a protest and how shocking it can be when pedestrians walk where law, practice and common sense says they should not be:
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If you want the experience for yourself, now is a good time to visit Point Grey Road (had to fit that in, didn’t I?).
When standing in the middle of the street to take photos, I found that approaching drivers were often disconcerted to see a human being where one should not be. Their faces contorted, their hands instinctively moved towards the horn, and then … oh wait.
These are not jaywalkers.
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[Okay, a cyclist is not a pedestrian. Does the dog count? I welcome any illustrative images people have taken of the use of PGR – pricetags at shaw dot ca.]
As a driver, it is disconcerting to see a person endangering themselves in walking in a vehicle traffic lane, but memory of the two streetcar videos from the very early 1900’s-one in Vancouver and the other in San Francisco-remind one that even in the pre-automobile era, the mainly horse drawn vehicles and electric streetcars had to deal with dodging pedestrians also endangering themselves…it is not just an automobile phenomena.. but perhaps just a human reaction to rules!
This was covered very well in 99% Invisible: Modern Moloch. http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-76-the-modern-moloch/
Critical to pedestrian – and cyclist – survival in my experience is the need to make eye contact with drivers.
It is also not enough to create some safe places for the unpowered, we also have to make roads safer by tackling speed enforcement effectively. There will still be cars – and drivers have to be “socially reconstructed” too. We seem to have had some success with drinking and driving, but excessive speed and driver distraction (and even both at the same time) are still far too apparent. Yes, this is a war on car drivers, and it one that we, the people, have been steadily losing up until now.
“Stephen,” I think that the only reason we are losing “the war on car drivers” is that we have adopted a fairly complacent, take what you believe to be yours, attitude. In other words, we have remained in retreat, not even advanced to the front of the battle: I well understand being behind the wheel of a lethal machine, and I consistently drive between the speed limit or at the most 10K over and do not allow myself to become distracted from my driving. I agree with you that we are no where close to solving the grave problem of motorists’ infractions; we need to be much tougher as a society on the enforcement of motorist and cyclist responsibility. With shared road space, a thoroughly equitable concept, (such as the newly closed Point Grey Road), enforcement is essential from time to time to maintain the intention of the concept.
Why do you keep putting quotation marks around people’s names? Do you think they’re lying about their identity?
How about jay-biking ? Many roads, say Broadway or Granville , are not designed for bikes, yet bikers use them. We also need bike free roads, for cars. But we also need more ped or bike friendly green ways where car is not king, but at best an unwelcome anomaly.
A person is killed every 25 seconds by a car. End of story.