During the morning announcements early in the second quarter, Chandler administrators made some statements about jaywalking. There are consequences for a student that jaywalks. Some students have expressed believing that this is unfair. But is it? Many school rules exist with the safety of students in mind. For example, students are not allowed to carry a knife because they can become a lethal weapon. Students should not share open foods because that can spread illness. Students are not allowed to jaywalk because they can get run over or cause other accidents.

Any student who has driven through a parking lot has likely seen some frustrating things, such as that one lady chatting away on her phone while taking forever to cross the road. Pedestrians do indeed have the right of way in those areas and believe that cars will always stop for them. But even when someone does have the right of way, they should still be mindful of everyone else using the road.

The mindset becomes dangerous when brought out onto non-residential roads. Jaywalking disrupts the flow of traffic and is comparable to brake checking. Drivers often have little time to react when a pedestrian shows up in the wrong place, so they might not be able to stop in time as their vehicle approaches the pedestrian. In such a situation, the unfortunate driver is usually the one who gets punished. Jaywalking has also been particularly dangerous in Arizona. Perry Vandell, a reporter for AzCentral, states “Arizona had the fourth highest pedestrian fatality rate in the country in 2018.”

There is likely a safe way to jaywalk. There are safe ways to do lots of dangerous activities. Chances are, that safer way to jaywalk will take more time than it’d be worth. It would also be pretty difficult, as it’s difficult to judge how fast traffic may be moving. Which means that jaywalking is generally a more dangerous or time-consuming route.