Jaywalking in New York City is actually illegal

Jaywalking is an intricate part of the New York City lifestyle. According to Gothamist.com, a former cop has even called it "an urban cultural issue." It is such a daily and well-known custom to New Yorkers, some may wonder when its stop becoming a habit and start to get dangerous.

In the last year alone, 50 pedestrians were killed and there have been 20 more occurrences in 2009 according to the City's Department of Transportation.

One example was an accident that happened on October 16 at 12:30 a.m. in Chelsea when a man hurrying to make a traffic light was hit by an NYPD van. He shot out in the dark and the van careened into him. The young man is an unidentified 23-year-old who was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital by paramedics and is in stable condition as reported The New York Post.

Along with their report on the recent accident The New York Post asked of jaywalking, "so why do New Yorkers do it?"

When University students were asked if they would jaywalk in the city most admitted to contributing to this "urban cultural issue." There were quite a few who also believed it was a standard of all people who lived in the city. "I am a walking stop sign. I don't really pay attention to the rules. I don't know what the jaywalking rule is actually.

Down here, I feel like it's free for all. There are more people than cars," senior Allison Levine said.

"It's all I do," senior Tanya Mirvas added to the similar view of Levine, which seems to be the widespread opinion among students.

In a city where convenience seems to trump any other way of life, no wonder jaywalking is the norm. Pedestrians constantly run out into the street.

It's not an uncommon sight on both busy intersections and side streets. Many people may be so used to the sight it isn't a shock to see a taxi headed straight towards a person. There is an obvious disregard for the crosswalk lights, but many may not know the details of the law, or blatantly, even if there is a law.

In a recent article The New York Post urges people to stop running through the streets, which leads us to wonder if it will ever be able to be controlled.

The question will always remain of what would cause pedestrians to put their own lives first and use their logic to refrain from simply crossing the street before the signal. It seems that ticketing for jaywalking is a rare occurrence, if not extinct in New York City, and the thought of even handing out tickets would become outlandish.

The mayor has also made a statement on this ticket topic. "The practical reality is I think the Police Department has plenty to do," says Mayor Bloomberg. "The police can't possibly give out tickets to everybody that jaywalks."

The risk of jaywalking doesn't only effect pedestrians but also those in their cars. On the other hand, The New York Post reported, in the case of a motorcyclist from Brooklyn who tried to swerve while riding his bike and was killed because he was trying to avoid a jaywalker.

"I understand the need to jaywalk but I understand the fact that we shouldn't. It's dangerous," senior Phillippe Kornfeld said. This month an unfortunate accident happened near the United Nations (UN) might have some effects on those who before haven't thought twice about crossing the street illegally.

A woman crossing the street was hit and crushed underneath a double decker bus. The woman broke both her legs. The image of the woman lying on the city street with the bus looming over her has been seen widespread across the news and Internet.

Jaywalking is done for an obvious reason: people choose jaywalking rather than waiting to cross the street. Common sense is the only thing between possibly standing upright versus lying in a hospital bed or even worse. The statistics of jaywalking isn't in a pedestrian's favor.

However statistics may not be enough of a reason to stop New Yorkers from this cultural phenomenon.