Obeying Signs
01/19/2010
I have a friend who will not cross the street if the crosswalk sign shows red/don’t cross. Even if it’s 4am and you can see a mile in either direction and no cars in sight. Me, I’ll go ahead and cross. For a sign like this, my thinking is that it’s trying to help you out when the intersection is busy and set some standards. But ultimately, you need to trust your own judgment of when it’s safe to cross a street, not a sign. If that sign shows white/walk, but there is a car speeding to the intersection, you had better trust that judgment.
But then there are other signs. There is a sign by the gate to the park in front of my house. It says: “No Dogs Allowed”. Yet probably 20 times day, someone opens that gate with the same hand they are holding their dog leash with. That kind of sign isn’t a judgment call to me, it means don’t bring your frigging dog to this park. If I had a dog, there is no way on Earth my body would let me go through that gate with the dog. Can’t do it. Sign says no.
I just find it strange that I have so fundamentally different reactions to different signs.
That’s one of the first things I noticed when I moved to LA. Everyone here totally obeys the signs and crosswalks. Apparently they ticket for jaywalking like crazy (I’ve never seen it, but I hear the rumors)
But when you got to Boston everyone just walks where ever and when ever. It’s a heck of a culture change.
I’m in Los Angeles, Tim, and I can confirm that they ticket like maniacs here.
About six months ago I got a ticket for entering a crosswalk after the red hand started flashing. I wasn’t jaywalking; I was *in* the crosswalk. I made it all the way across the street *before* it changed to a solid red hand. And I made it all the way across the street *sooner* than other people who had entered the crosswalk before I did, but while it was still the white “walk” sign.
It was a $204 ticket, by the way.
I can feel your reaction bro.
I am that kind of person too.
Just like anything else decided upon by somebody else, signs should be taken with a grain of salt. Just like actual laws, they are more or less guidelines and never encompass any give possibility. A red light obviously has no use when there is no traffic to direct. A no dog sign usually is there because dogs crap all over the place and it’s kind of a preventive measure. So for all intents and purposes, you’re absolutely right to differentiate.