Every day my morning commute to work takes me past Kingston High School. For those unfamiliar with the area, this particular stretch of Broadway is the one part of Kingston traffic that can legitimately "suck" (for definitions of "Suck" consistent with the area.... I mean, it's not like trying to commute the 101 into Sunnyvale or something). Because there's a high school on one side of the road, there's almost always a Kingston Police cruiser parked on the opposite side of the road, watching traffic. I'm sure if I was to run a red-light, that guy would go all Starsky and Hutch on me and it'd be all over.
Why, then, when I've got a green light, does that same cop not Tackleberry the little 16-year-old punks who just walk across the road in front of moving cars as though they have a god-given right to cross the street regardless of the signal?
New York State Vehicle and Traffic Code, Title 7, Article 27, § 1112 states:
§ 1112. Pedestrian-control signal indications. Whenever pedestrians
are controlled by pedestrian-control signals exhibiting the words "WALK"
or "DON'T WALK", or exhibiting symbols of a walking person or upraised
hand, such signals shall indicate and apply to pedestrians as follows:
(a) Steady WALK or walking person. Pedestrians facing such signal may
proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal and shall be
given the right of way by other traffic.
(b) Flashing DON'T WALK or upraised hand. No pedestrian shall start to
cross the roadway in the direction of such signal, but any pedestrians
who have partially completed their crossing on the WALK or walking
person signal shall proceed to a sidewalk or safety island while the
flashing DON'T WALK or upraised hand signal is showing.
(c) Steady DON'T WALK or upraised hand. No pedestrians shall start to
cross the roadway in the direction of such signal, but any pedestrians
who have partially completed their crossing on the WALK or flashing
DON'T WALK signal shall proceed to a sidewalk or safety island while the
steady DON'T WALK signal is showing.New York State Vehicle and Traffic Code, Title 7, Article 27, § 1151 (b) states:
(b) No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety
and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is
impractical for the driver to yield.Seems clear enough to me... if they're violating the DON'T WALK by running out in front of traffic, they're in violation of two different sections of the V&T code, and deserve a ticket, not just for annoying the fuck out me, but also because they screw up traffic, endanger themselves and others (e.g., if I slam on the brakes to not hit them, and someone then hits me... who's going to find that punk and catch them to give them the appropriate tickets and blame...?)
If police departments can sit around and do lame-ass "seat belt checkpoints" in the interest of "public safety", why the heck can't they have the guy that they're already stationed at the school do likewise to these jaywalkers in the name of that same "public safety"? Seems like a no-brainer to me....
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