In most big cities around the world it is common to see pedestrians crossing the road using the designated crosswalks or using the road-crossing facilities such as foot-over-bridge or underpass. In fact, in many big cities, while crossing the road using a crosswalk, pedestrians also have to follow the pedestrian traffic signal. Pedestrians are not even seen to cross the road using the crosswalk if the pedestrian traffic signal does not permit them to do so.
This is because jaywalking or pedestrians crossing the road when and where they are not permitted to do so such as crossing the road at places where there is no crosswalk, climbing across the road divider, crossing the intersection when they are not permitted to do so, violating the pedestrian traffic signal, etc., is dangerous. It is considered as a traffic offence and just like any other road user, a pedestrian found to be committing a traffic offence is penalised.
Jaywalking is considered as a traffic offence. Drivers expect pedestrians only at a crosswalk when they are permitted to cross the road. But when a pedestrian jaywalks, drivers may get surprised and may have to swerve abruptly or slow down or even come to a complete stop to avoid hitting the pedestrian. If the driver is attentive then he may be able to avoid hitting the pedestrian and the pedestrian may be able to cross the road safely. However, if the driver is driving at a high speed or inattentive or if the traffic is heavy then he may not have enough time to slow down or to swerve to avoid hitting the pedestrian or even realise the presence of the pedestrian, leading to a vehicle-to-pedestrian collision. In worst cases, jaywalking may lead to multiple vehicle crash including the pedestrian getting hit creating a traffic mayhem.
To ensure a safe and smooth traffic flow, it is important for pedestrians, just like vehicles, to adhere to traffic laws such as they have to cross the road using the designated road crossing facilities and at crosswalks they have to cross the road only when they are permitted to do so.
Pedestrian-to-vehicle collision happens almost every day in Dhaka. There is no doubt that reckless driving is one of the major reasons for pedestrian casualties but jaywalking is also another main reason for the pedestrian casualties. Pedestrians are even seen to be running across the road even when they are next to a foot-over-bridge.
Jaywalking also hampers traffic flow. During the daytime many of the roads in Dhaka remain clogged due to traffic congestion. However, when the vehicles get a chance to move, they have to continuously slow down or come to a halt to avoid hitting jaywalkers. This worsens the 'stop and go' traffic condition and disrupts traffic flow even more.
Although most pedestrians understand the risk of jaywalking, they seem to be doing it anyway. To encourage pedestrians not to jaywalk, the authorities need to conduct campaigns against jaywalking, provide more safe and convenient road-crossing facilities throughout the city and properly maintain the existing road-crossing facilities. In addition, to prevent jaywalking, the authorities have to increase the height of the road dividers, fix the road dividers where it has been broken and most importantly, penalise jaywalkers.
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