anshuman

Guys, going across a survey, i stumbled upon a term: "Jaywalking". Was wondering what is it?? Are we Indians addicted to it??

Any feedback will be much appreciated!!!

hemant

Jaywalking is a term used to describe when a pedestrian crosses the street without regard to traffic regulations. In common use, the term generally refers to someone crossing a busy street outside of a designated crosswalk.

anshuman

Thanks mate!!! I haven’t’ seen many crosswalks across……leave aside the concept of jaywalking in India… !!! LOL ... and thus wonder why are the people so spiritual here! Every time we cross the road; our karma is put to the test, isn’t it!!!

Guys, have you ever wondered, why even such callousness of the Indian government hasn’t even tickled our nerves.

Looking forward to the positives, at least things like this and videos like this savors us from so many heart related diseases, and other disorders related to stress, because of our daily proximity with traffic.

So, we should be more immune to overreacting with “rage” and indignation to the any breach of propriety. But is it really so…??

Let us hope for the day to come..!!! sooner than later..!!!

manoj

FOR MOST car and two wheeler drivers in Delhi, jaywalkers are a big menace. They appear out of nowhere, jump over dividers and halt traffic. For a pedestrian, however, crossing a busy road could become a dit^ference between life and death.

When "Mausam Chakrabarti", a 29-year-old government employee, was posted from Kolkata to Delhi four years ago, crossing the treacherous roads of Delhi was a nightmare. "The traffic here moves so fast, no one stops for pedestrians to cross the road safely Many roads either do not have subways or foot over bridges or they are located at far distances," he said.

Four years down the line, Chakrabarti has now learnt the survival techniques of a Delhi jaywalker "I take the Metro to Central Secretariat every day. To reach the station, I have to cross the busy G.T. Road which has no subway or over bridge," he said. Chakrabarti waits for a critical mass of fellow pedestrians to gather and then together they dash for the other side of the road when they sight that critical gap between oncoming cars.

The presence of a subway does not always wean away people from this life and death situation. "At places like Lajpat Nagar and Moti Bagh, subways are located far away. Who will walk so much and then again climb stairs of a subway or foot over bridge to cross a road?" said Sandeep Sharma, a banker.

In places like AIIMS and Dhaula Kuan, subways are located far away from the road. "If you have to cross the busy Aurobindo Marg from INA market, the subway is so far located that only local residents know about its existence. Others just take a chance and jump the divider," Sharma said.

Subways are also deemed unsafe by many especially women. "The subways near the IIT main gate and Lajpat Nagar are so dark, people do not want to use them. Some of these are also locked up at night," said Geetam Tiwari of the Transport Research and Injury Prevention Programme of IIT, Delhi.

There is a long list of subways at very busy roads that are not used by pedestrians because they are dark and dingy The subways near Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and Baba Kharak Singh Marg are so dark; it takes a gladiator's heart to enter them even in broad daylight. Many are inhabited by beggars and drug addicts. "People are forced to dash across roads and jump dividers and this phenomena is found all over the world. Pedestrians nowhere want to use subways or foot over bridges as it takes much more energy," Tiwari said.

"Road mfrastructure is not made keeping the pedestrians in mind and are therefore not pedestrian friendly," she said. "Even at traffic intersections, vehicles keep coming from side or another making it difficult to cross at a go."


Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com (Delhi Edition)
Date Of Publish: 12-Apr-07

__________________
Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.

manoj

STATISTICS FROM Delhi Traffic Police suggest there are at least four to five cases of road accidents everyday in the capital. At least 52 per cent of those affected are pedestrians. The important question here is, why isn't there a control mechanism that can prevent such accidents?

There are steep fines for jaywalking the world over, but the concept is unheard of in Delhi. "If there can be fines for speeding and negligent driving, then why shouldn't there be a check on reckless pedestrians too?" asks Nupur Kumar, who works at an advertising agency.

"Why can't they mind their movements and follow rules?" said Aray Choudhary, a senior executive venting his anger on pedestrians. "I think it is drivers who have no consideration for pedestrians. They have no patience," says Ayushi Pradhan. She has to cross roads several times a day to get to work and back.

For every road accident that takes place, all fingers are pointed at the driver The fact is, though there is a huge population of commuters on foot everyday, there are little or no rules governing them.

There are zebra crossings but one hardly finds pedestrians using them. They don't seem to bother about their safety when crossing roads; the responsibility therein lies with the drivers. Pedestrians rarely miss an opportunity to cross roads at spaces they find between passing vehicles. When hit they blame the driver for recklessness.

"Just yesterday when going to work, a bag struck the windscreen of my car and I hit the brake pedal. I saw a teenager run across Janpath without even caring to glance at me," said Prabha Mudgal, a bank executive.

Even on roads like Janpath, where there is constant traffic flow, it is not difficult to see people irresponsibly jumping across the one and half metre high barrier to get to the other side.

Who should be taken to task for the rising number of accidents?

"The Delhi traffic police should be taken to task for lack of rules, little implementation of those that exist and absolutely no consideration for pedestrians or drivers who suffer in the process," said Prajwal Mahant.

Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com (Delhi Edition)
Date Of Publish: 12-Apr-07

__________________
Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.

spy

Driver’s blame came into the picture only when he/she hit any pedestrian on zebra crossing. Mostly pedestrians cross the road from those places from where they are not suppose to do by ignoring subways, foot over bridges and moving traffic.

Our road engineering is also very much responsible for jaywalking because at many places there are no facilities for pedestrians to cross the road properly. They are force to travel few more kilometers to cross the road.

dhoomk2

But where the facilities for pedestrians are available there they like to avoid those and opt shortcuts to cross the road like jumping the divider.

himanshu

Lack of foot path is yet another reason for people jay walking on roads but commonly we like to cross the road anywhere at our will and pleasure.

dsilva

ya totally...... pedestrians too need to make sure dat they r careful wen on a street........ esp during peak traffic hrs. wen everyone is in a rush..... as ma mum says "haste makes waste"........ {pearls of wisdom}
Be safe.
J. Dsilva

junaid

exactly.

But instead of drivining we actually walk on wheels, without a thought we turn right or left; we occupy parts of the road that are not due to us; no way that pedestrians can claim any part of the road (what ever is left after encroachments); All of us want to be at the STOP line at the same time while we wait at a signal.