Why Jaywalking Is a Crime: The Car Industry's Hidden Campaign

Why is jaywalking a crime? A hundred years ago, if a car hit you in the street, the driver was the villain. Then one word, and a very effective campaign, flipped the blame onto people on foot. In this video, we follow the story from the crowded streets of the 1890s to the car boom of the 1920s, a failed speed-limiter petition in Cincinnati, and the campaign that turned "jay," an insult for a country bumpkin, into a legal label. We also look at what's true and what's exaggerated, how laws around jaywalking are changing today, and how the Netherlands made a very different choice. In this video: What streets looked like before cars Why traffic deaths shocked American cities in the 1920s The Cincinnati speed-limiter vote of 1923 How the word "jaywalker" took hold, and who pushed it The honest version: what car groups did, and what they didn't How the Netherlands cut road deaths with street design Three small things you can do CHAPTERS 0:00 The driver was the villain 0:29 Streets before cars 0:57 The car arrives 1:26 Traffic deaths shock America 2:31 Cincinnati, 1923 3:21 Motordom 3:43 Teach, shame, change the law 4:11 How "jay" became an insult 5:45 Model traffic laws 8:01 The honest version 8:44 Jaywalking laws today 9:34 Designing safer streets 10:39 The Netherlands 11:58 How the Dutch did it 13:53 "Crash," not "accident" 14:57 Three things you can do Further reading: "Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City" by Peter Norton (MIT Press, 2008) Previous video: [LINK TO PREVIOUS VIDEO] Next video: [LINK TO NEXT VIDEO] New videos on the hidden history of ordinary things every week. Subscribe so you don't miss one. #jaywalking #hiddenhistory #urbanplanning #streetdesign #history