Crossing the Street

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This morning I headed down into Middletown to buy chapstick, soap, and a coffee. I was waiting at a crosswalk, waiting for the walk light to change. It was early morning in Middletown, and the streets were not very busy. I checked the traffic lights to see if the light was red, and then began to cross. Behind me came a voice saying “you gotta wait for the walk signal.” I turned around and saw a man standing on the curb. His comment took me by surprise; I don’t know when was the last time someone told me not to cross the street. “Oh, well I saw that the light was red and so I thought that I would cross.” “Still, you can’t do that, and I know because I’m a cop.” “Oh, thanks,’ I said to him. He then went on to explain to me the reason it was not safe to cross, because the cars coming from the main road, with their green light, could be turning right and might not see me crossing. He had a point, even though it was clear that no cars were coming at the time.
A few moments later the walk light turned and we crossed together. We walked along for a bit more together, struck up a short conversation (‘you must go to Wesleyan, huh,’ was the first thing he said), then he said goodbye and headed into the Police station (which happened to be on that block).
I came to the next crosswalk, which again showed the ‘no walk’ sign.

So I waited.

On the other side of the street was a policeman headed back to the police station with his morning coffee in hand. He was waiting for the walk light as well. I saw him look both ways, and then begin to cross the street, and so, following his lead, I began doing the same.
As we passed we gave each other a quick nod, and then he said ‘if you don’t tell on me, I won’t tell on you.’ ??? Then he gave me a sideways smile and we both went on our way.

Can you get a ticket for crossing a crosswalk when the walk light is red? I imagine you can, but I have never heard of it happening.

It is interesting how the act of crossing the street is handled differently in different parts of the world.
In Cameroon there are no walk signals so it is a complete free for all. There are not even crosswalks, you cross where and when you can.
In China (Beijing), there are designated crosswalks at intersections but apparently no regard for crosswalk guidelines; you cross the street when you can, when the mass of people move, or when there is an open window for crossing.
In Lithuania it is also similar to in Cameroon and Beijing, though often you will see more people than less obeying the crosswalk signals (if and when there is a walk light).
I have found that in Western Europe, Germany and Austria in particular, people ALWAYS obey the crosswalk signal. It was very striking the first time I experienced it; you would be standing there with a small group of people waiting to cross the street, there would be not a car in sight from either direction, yet still no one would cross. It was almost as if they did not even notice the cars (or lack thereof) on the street. And if you do cross when the cross light is red, everyone else waiting to cross gives you a look, one of those ‘he is not from here’ look.

Here in the US there seems to be less protocol; of course you are supposed to wait for the walk signal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ‘look both ways’ and then cross if nobody is coming. Today was the first time I’ve ever been reprimanded for crossing the street by a cop—and then given approval for my disobedience by another cop, all in a matter of minutes (and within a few feet of the police station).

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Comments

[Ann Gordon]

j walking?
And then there's the 'j' approach to crossing streets...any experiences with that?

[lily]

yes yes you can
a few years ago a very scary angry policeman in san francisco actually threatened to arrest me for jaywalking. it can definately happen.