As the Department of Public Safety ostensibly seeks to make pedestrians safer, officials have started enforcing jaywalking as a significant offense punishable by a fine of up to $166.00 after court costs.
This tactic, which the department claims is about promoting pedestrian safety and not about raising revenue, is unreasonable and is likely to be ineffective.
Not only is the $166.00 fine too steep, combating jaywalking may not even be an effective way of increasing road safety. DPS officials say imposing these fines will lead to a safer campus. But a report compiled by the US Department of Transportation showed that pedestrians have the same likelihood of being hit by a driver in a crosswalk as they do when jaywalking.
Pedestrians feel a false sense of security when they enter marked crosswalks because they know they have the right of way. But speeding cars and absent-minded drivers are not always aware of the rules.
Students are likely to be left with either a policy with penalties that won’t be enforced (just like the smoking ban), or a draconian policy that forces students to pay a high price that is hardly worth the added benefit.
And there is little for the University as well. After taking $25 off the top, the rest of students’ expenses take the form of court fees — as if courts need to be clogged any more than they already are.
Roads on most college campuses require a unique amount of pedestrian accommodation and host a lot of foot traffic.
Students living in almost any dorm on campus need to cross a busy street to get to classes, the Student Union and libraries. So it’s reasonable to establish rules and maintain safety.
But the fee is too high a price to pay for merely crossing the street out of turn.
