Dylan Murray
While some would prefer not to admit it, jaywalking is something that most people, at one point or another, have done at some point in their lives.
The act of walking carelessly in the street is one that is technically against the law in a multitude of places across the world, but is still not one that is regarded as particularly important to a lot of people.
However, that doesn’t mean that jaywalking is a safe or smart thing to do. In fact, due to the size and speed at which cars are often moving, mistiming your movement while walking across the street could result in serious injuries or even death in the worst cases.
This was proven to be the case when a post on Reddit featuring a dashcam video of a pedestrian jaywalking went viral for all the worst reasons.
The video took place in Austin, Texas, back in 2022, and saw a man begin to cross the street while several lanes of traffic were at a halt.
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However, as the man got to the lane without any present traffic, he was brutally hit by a pickup truck that was driving at normal speed.
The hit was clearly devastating, as the man was sent flying several yards away from the initial contact with the truck. As the dashcam clip came to an end, the driver of the truck was seen exiting his vehicle to check on the injured pedestrian.
Onlookers on r/Austin discussed the incident, with various different factors contributing to their unique stances on the issue of jaywalking.
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One commenter expressed sympathy for the driver, saying: “That poor dude in the truck will be traumatized for life…”
Others emphasized how dangerous it is to jaywalk, noting that it both frustrates them as drivers and is consciously avoided as walkers and joggers.
“This is some serious s**t here and is a tragedy for everyone involved and their loved ones and friends,” a commenter expressed, “As an avid jogger, I've promised my family that I will always cross at crosswalks, look both ways, and will do my best to not die by getting hit by a car.”
However, others did express the struggles that pedestrians in the city of Austin have that effectively encourage pedestrians to jaywalk.
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“I hate this,” one commenter said, “Unfortunately, intersections with crosswalks are pretty far apart in some areas but I’d rather the inconvenience than getting hit.”
This prompted another commenter to express their beliefs, saying: “I'd rather have proper pedestrian and biking infrastructure.
"If the intersections are too far apart and people feel the need to cross in the middle, then clearly the road design is wrong.”
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Luckily, according to others in the Reddit thread, the pedestrian that was hit was not killed, though he did suffer serious injuries as a result.