Jaywalking is on the agenda for some who belive its enforcement is uneven. Washington state legislators are now considering a bill that would repeal the law outlawing jaywalking across the state. Supporters and sponsors of House Bill 1428 argue that Washington’s current jaywalking laws disproportionally impact minorities and people who are low-income or homeless.
In the 2010s, a disproportionately high percentage of jaywalking tickets went to Black and Native American people in Seattle. Black pedestrians are stopped for jaywalking four times more often than their share of the population and that nearly half of those affected by jaywalking citations are homeless.
Sponsors of HB 1428 are Representatives Alvarado, Street, Reed, Fitzgibbon, Simmons, Berry, Bateman, Mena, Ramel, and Macri.
The main points of HB 1428:
• Authorizes a pedestrian to cross a roadway at any point unless a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision with a moving vehicle, a person operating a bicycle, or a personal delivery device (referenced as “immediate danger standard” below).
• Exempts pedestrians from following the requirements of traffic control devices provided the immediate danger standard for crossing a roadway is followed.
• Requires the operator of an approaching vehicle to stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross a roadway at any point unless the immediate danger standard for crossing a roadway is met.
• Removes the requirement that a pedestrian moving along a roadway is required to walk on or move along the shoulder of the roadway facing traffic when sidewalks are not provided or are inaccessible and shoulders are accessible.
Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) argued that a repeal would endanger not only pedestrians but drivers as well. The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.
