Things were so much simpler a century ago. If you wanted to cross the street, you did precisely that. After all, what was going to stop you?
Today, you can’t get away with such nonsense. Depending on where you’re located, crossing the street without the assistance of a crosswalk or green light can land you fine anywhere between $35 - $250. This law is called “jaywalking.” But you’re probably reading this and already thinking, “Well, yeah, that just makes sense for our safety.”
Well, that’s because you don’t know of the insane campaign back in the ’20s led by auto manufacturers and dealers that would eventually change road laws forever. Before the days of automobiles racing down the road at 80mph, the streets were actually a place for pedestrians, vendors, children playing and horse-drawn vehicles.
No longer having to look both ways when crossing the street or be weary of an oncoming vehicle. Sidewalks were painted to give people a chance at safer road etiquette, but the masses ultimately ignored them.
But when automobiles started filling the streets more by the ’20s, there were more consequences to this type of behaviour. Deaths related to cars began skyrocketing to alarming numbers, usually affecting the slower elderly or the easily distracted youth.
These deaths were raised to such alarming heights that different cities dedicated memorials to those lost to the metal machines. Essentially, it wasn’t the pedestrian’s job to dodge cars; it was the driver’s job to avoid the pedestrians.
So, what exactly changed?
In response to these rising death numbers, the public compared automobiles to “violent intruders” to the streets. Some even saw them as dangerous playthings that had no business in our society. Newspapers even published cartoons depicting them like the grim reaper… real subtle, huh?
Needless to say, but Automobile manufacturers did that appreciate this colorful representation.
While it was near impossible to ban them from the streets, protesters started a crusade to, at the very least, slow them down. In 1920, Illustrated World wrote, “Every car should be equipped with a device that would hold the speed down to whatever number of miles stipulated for the city in which its owner lived.”
Then, in 1923, approximately 42,000 Cincinnati residents signed a petition that required cars to heed a 25 miles per hour speed limit. This would nearly defeat the purpose of the automobile, which was essentially created to get drivers from point A to point B quicker than any foot. So, local dealers had to think quickly.
Letters were sent to every automobile owner in the city, and they published advertisements against this new law. This campaign not only failed but tarnished the image of auto dealers, making it look like they care more about profits than their customers’ safety. So, they had one last card to play – villainizing the pedestrian instead of the car.
They began another campaign that would legally redefine street laws that would benefit the drivers. Pedestrians could no longer willy nilly walk across the street; they had to instead use a crosswalk when signalled to do so. Failing to follow this simple rule would result in you “jaywalking.”
However, people weren’t exactly open to this new idea. Some cities weren’t following the new rules, and the police rarely enforced them. So, more work had to be done by the automotive industry.
They started another crusade with the newspapers. They created a free wire service, offering a complete article for print if reporters sent in traffic reports – including accidents. These articles would shift the blame towards pedestrians and reiterating that the new “jaywalking” law was for the pedestrian’s safety… definitely not selling more automobiles.
That’s right, the main campaign was shame
That’s basically what worked best for the auto traders. Don’t see it? Well, did you know that the word “jay” from jaywalking was actually considered an offensive slur back in the day? Granted it wasn’t as insulting or demeaning as other slurs being used around that time, people still really didn’t appreciate how it was being used. It basically meant “hick” or “hillbilly,” insinuating that you were an uneducated bum who didn’t know how to behave in modern society – like using a crosswalk properly.
It was actually considered so offensive that people tried to turn a phrase and coin the term “jay driving.” It didn’t catch on people began to see that this new system was exceptionally beneficial for both drivers and pedestrians. Drivers could drive safely down the road, and pedestrians could walk on the sidewalk without fear of sudden collision. In the end, the automotive industry’s campaign worked, and the streets were forever changed.
