August 22, 2008
MPD Ticketing Jaywalkers, Cyclists Around the City
Over the last few days, MPD officers have been spotted standing at the corner of 14th and Irving Streets NW ticketing people for jaywalking. We saw them at about 5 p.m. yesterday and received emails saying they were out on Wednesday as well. One bystander said she saw police stop one guy crossing against the light when no cars were around: "he had his headphones on and was crossing the street and the cop chased after him and whistled at him. He looked so bewildered and confused." Other DCists report seeing police doing jaywalking duty at 14th and U and in Dupont, and Greater Greater Washington noted police were ticketing bicyclists at 16th and New Hampshire, again. All of this is to say, be on the lookout for increased chances of getting a ticket on your way home.
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i did not even know one could receive a ticket for 'jay-walking'--what is the fine??
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I can see giving tickets to the idiots that step out into traffic and then yell at oncoming cars that they have the right of way, when they don't. I will only cross against the light if it is completely clear instead of some people making a mad dash because they see that Maryland plate come rushing upon them, making them roadkill.
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"he had his headphones on and was crossing the street and the cop chased after him and whistled at him. He looked so bewildered and confused."
Yup, that's pretty much every dumbass with headphones crossing the street against the light. God forbid people should actually, y'know, pay attention to WTF is going on. But that would just totally harsh your buzz while you're rockin out to The Strokes.
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I don't really have a problem with jay-walking enforcement in general. I mean, if you walk against the light with a cop standing there, you deserve it.
But the traffic lights at 14th and Irving are a mess. I remain baffled as to how the cycles are supposed to work, but there are many, many times in the light cycle around there where it says "don't walk" yet there's no possibility of a car going through because it's one way and the light is red. The one I "jay-walk" almost daily: Kenyon street & 14th, which says "don't walk" the vast majority of the time for no apparent reason.
They need to fix the lights there. Its a clusterf@&k and the pedestrians pay the price because it's confusing and stupid. Ticketing in such places is just nasty and unnecessary.
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You know at 14th and Irving, you can always go into the subway station and cross under the street. I've never done it, but I might in heavy traffic.
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@jamie
if you are driving south on 14th you have a delayed green for left turns. this means if you are walking on southside of irving it could look like everyone has a red.
you are completely right about Kenyon/Park/14th. those walk signs are never correct so people just ignore them.
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I got a jaywalking ticket at 14th and Irving a couple weeks ago. It was 8 am and no cars where out. I thought it was pretty ridiculous and almost laughed when he told me why he stopped me. After I got stopped, the officer stopped 4 other people. There weren't any cars. As he was writing me my ticket, bikers were running the red light and they did nothing about it. I thought that was absurd.
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Wow, that's some crap. Like jamie said, I'm fine with cops cherry-picking the incredibly stupid for enforcement of no-jaywalking laws, but if you're crossing the street without impeding traffic or endangering yourself, why do the police need to be involved?
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it was $20
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As I waited for the light on my bike, I watched as a hipster cruised through the intersection at 11th and P only to be pulled over by a squad car. Not sure if he got a ticket for running the light or wearing really tight jeans. Either way, "good" I say. It's about time we all start paying attention to the rules of the road ... traffic present or not, it's the law.
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how do they enforce this?
They get your name... which presumably could be false... and if they ask for your ID, you could say you forgot it, right?
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be on the lookout for increased chances of getting a ticket on your way home.
I appreciate the fyi, but, you know cross at the signal and you're fine.
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why do the police need to be involved?
C'mon, if you had a choice between handing out $20 tickets to jaywalkers and getting your ass shot in Ward 8, which line would you be in? I know which one I'd be in. I'd be in that LONG muthaf***er.
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this is interesting particularly the bus advertisment on pg 17. ;)
Good info to clear up the confusion.
@pitharat, that sucks. and shouldn't be that way, but...
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@jaynuze
"It's about time we all start paying attention to the rules of the road..."
Does this mean I can count on cops to ticket speeding in the district with equal aplumb? How about coming to a full stop before turning right on red? Moreover, can I count on drivers to actually go the speed limit when I'm biking down 16th St and then not act pissed when I go through the red in a effort to avoid the car behind me peeling off the line and clipping me? Or how about cars at intersections actually waiting for pedestrians to cross instead of turning through them in a busy crosswalk?
Yeah, I don't really think so either.
I agree about the law part - but as a 80% biker, 10% driver and 10% walker, there's no question blame can be laid equally on all fronts.
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Thanks for the link Disco Stu... I find pages 27 and 30 pretty interesting...
Personally, I'm fine with ticketing those who purposefully step into traffic and dodge cars to get across. I hate that... both as a frequent pedestrian and a some-time motorist. But, when there are no cars, and someone is obviously crossing safely, I think the police could make a discretionary choice!
And, where are the flip-side tickets for drivers who ignore the signals and pedestrians. The intersection at 15th and U St is a prime example... I've lost count of the number of times I've been nearly hit crossing U street (WITH THE SIGNAL) by a car turning left off of 15th. And they often have the audacity to honk and gesture wildly as though I were inconveniencing them! (For the record, I'm NOT a slow walker!)
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Apropos of nothing, I got a ticket downtown for not coming to a full stop before turning at a stop sign. Fifty bucks. I tried to pay online, but it kept saying the ticket wasn't in the system and may take up to 20 days. Well, at 30 days the fine doubles, so I logged in a couple days short of the one-month anniversary and it still wasn't in the system. I called the number on the back of the ticket and the nice lady told me it wasn't in the system because sometimes the officer forgets to file his copy of the tickets. According to the law, they have 15 working days to enter the data before the ticket becomes void. Even got a reciept in the mail saying the ticket was automatically dismissed. The lady even said this happens quite often.
So I gotta wonder how many of these jaywalking tickets will ever enter the tracking and payment system?
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Yeah smperk brings up a good question. Has anyone claimed they "forgot" their ID or gave a false name in order to get out of paying for the fine? I'd try that if I get caught.
Either that or I'll just run like the wind. The cops in DC probably are too donut-dependent to catch up anyway.
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"how do they enforce this?
They get your name... which presumably could be false... and if they ask for your ID, you could say you forgot it, right?"
While there's nothing illegal about walking around without an ID, if you're stopped by a cop after committing a crime and the cop can't be given sufficient proof that you are who you say you are, it's at the cop's discretion to arrest you and bring you in. Not for not having ID, but for the original offense.
If you decide to get snarky and claim you "forgot" and a cop having a bad day thinks you're fucking with him, you could very well find yourself in the pokey for a little while. Overkill? Sure, but are you really looking to risk it over $20?
Plus, if they do arrest you and discover that you were trying to give a false name to dodge the fine, you've got bigger problems than a jaywalking ticket.
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According to the city code the maximum fines for a variety of pedestrian violations are $20 to $10 dollars. But one person beat the ticket because the text in the city code doesn't correspond to what the actual crosswalk devices say.
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You're welcome, pixiepants. I thought that was interesting as well. Guess it turns out the Dbags who walk in front of traffic in AdMo aren't breaking the law after all? As for the honking, I'm a fan of the whole "I'm walkin' here!" NY accent and all.
What was also in that link is that it says not to ticket jaywalkers who are in the street when there are no cars (as it's not worth the time), but that sounds like just what happened on 14th. As for the biker... what you wanted the cop to run? There were nice slow moving peds right there.
My feeling is that even if the ticket feels unfair, if you knew better and did it anyway, then you kind of have to suck it up. But could also try contesting it, of course.
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There are fewer and/or weaker justifications for allowing a right turn on red than there are to allow jaywalking.
In each situation the person is surveying the situation and deciding that there is adequate room to go, despite the fact that it is not their "turn". Except that in the case of the driver, he's also bringing a ton of steel and glass along with him.
Right turn on red laws were ostensibly passed to save gasoline. I say permissible jaywalking laws should be adopted based on the same idea: to encourage less driving people should be able to walk to their destinations as quickly as possible.
Or alternatively, we should just get rid of right turn on red laws.
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My favorite part of that presentation is on page 37, where it warns that bicyclists can be "anti-authoritarian".
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Crossing against the signal when no cars are approaching--Officer discretion, verbal warning or ticket.
Mid-block crossings--If between signals or not, if pedestrians are vigilant, scanning, not taking right of way from vehicles, no action need be taken.
So the takeaway here is...never cross at the corner with the light; always walk mid-block.
When I used to live in AM I used to take great pleasure crossing at 18th and Belmont during morning rush hour. I'd fill up a little cart with clothes to take to the laundromat, and push it ahead of me into the crosswalk, and into the onrush of speeding Maryland commuters.
The screeching of tires was always a nice morning pick-me-up.
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You can pretty much commit murder in this city and get away with it, but heave forbid you jaywalk!
MPD is a joke.
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I live a couple of blocks from here. so when the guys that routinely deal drugs in the alley near my house jaywalk to make a deal, what will they get busted for?
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Well that document was interesting. Hard to disagree with much that was in there. I do like that they have this at the end:
[Don't waste time on "jaywalking" when no cars are near by.]
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Some groups hold fundraisers. MPD tickets yuppies going to target. No black tie necessary.
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As someone who has to drive through downtown every evening on my way back to Logan Circle, IT'S ABOUT TIME. I can't count the number of times that I've tried to turn onto Rhode Island from Connecticut, only to have some idiot run out into the intersection when there's barely any time left before the signal turns. Yes, I understand the concept of pedestrian right-of-way, but I also understand that if I don't make my turn, there are 2 cars next to me waiting to go, and while you need to get home, I need to get home too. Don't amble out into the road when the flasher shows 2 seconds. That's got to be one of the leading causes or road rage.
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Great slides Disco, the "anti-authoritarian" bullet for bicyclists is awesome. Especially since I think the genius behind it meant to write "anti-authority" since after all authoritarian means something just a little short of fascist, so being that ain't so bad ya know.
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Washington Circle is really bad at night. I don't know how many times I have seen people blindly step out when cars are coming right at them. The MPD would make so much money there on any weekday at rush hour. At least if someone did get hit, GW hospital is right there. That doesn't mean they will live, but at least they won't have to go far.
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DONT WALK means ...........
You'd have to be a total idiot to jaywalk when cops are around. That new cloaking device hasn't hit the stores yet.
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My favorites are the ones constantly looking in the direction FROM WHICH NO CARS ARE COMING. Just walks right out into the street while looking to the RIGHT even though all the traffic is coming from the left. And that goes double for dumbasses in cars. Just keep staring to the right AS YOU TURN LEFT INTO MY CAR AS I'M COMING INTO THE INTERSECTION. S**T! Where'd you come from?
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"Washington Circle is really bad at night. I don't know how many times I have seen people blindly step out when cars are coming right at them."
Well it's designed horribly, and cars run red lights there constantly.
There are a couple crosswalks without any crossing signs, so that's bad.
But the absolute worst behavior there (and in other circles) is the attitude on the part of drivers that since they're in the circle, then it must be ok at all times for them to exit the circle (particularly onto New Hampshire on the northeast side). There is a sign that clearly states that there is no turn except with a green arrow, yet I would break down drivers into the following categories:
75% Don't even slow down before turning against the red
20% Slow down a little, look confused, and roll through the red light
4% Come to a stop, get impatient after about 2 seconds, then go
1% Come to a stop and actually wait for a green light
Only the last option is the legal one. If you want to talk about making money, a red light camera there would be a goldmine. The fact that it would be primarily cabs and Virginians is just icing on the cake.
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I often see the clueless tourist driving around, really slow and not paying attention as they pull out. They are also looking at various maps and their GPS systems, yet seem completely at a loss. The cell phone people are even worse when it comes to the circles because they are looking in the other direction when the light changes.
I could go on, but most of us know the hazards of walking in this town and where the worst parts are to walk.
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Glad you all liked it. I'm totally anti-fascist, stmove.