Here is a picture of someone riding a bicycle on Benson Blvd in Midtown Anchorage that is not an authorized crossing.
City Councils, Borough Assemblies, County commissioners need to make fines harsh like in Singapore for jaywalking. Jaywalking for those not familiar with this term. When a person crosses a street at a place not a crosswalk.
Recently here in Anchorage we had a teenager boy who was killed at an unauthorized crossing at Debarr and Patterson. No crosswalk was present at the Intersection. His friend told him not to cross. He ignored his friends warning. No traffic signal would have prevented this tragedy. Please do not suggest one or I will stand up and suggest a traffic circle to end this debate.
Here is how you can do the following to penalize jaywalkers.
First offense can be a written or a verbal warning can be at the discretion of the officer.
Second offense $500 this is what they do in Singapore. Jaywalking has dropped dramatically. They also cane their citizens. I do not suggest this.
Driving with your headlights on your headlights on all the time increase the awareness of vehicle regardless of season.
Alaskans have a tendency not to drive with headlights on in the summer due to long daylight. This will increase your visibility for other vehicles to see you and pedestrians know you are coming.
Moral of this article is even if it is an easier to cross a busy street does not mean it is right. Plus most insurance when they find that you cross the street unmarked crossing. They will deny your claim and you are paying 100 percent of your medical bill this includes if you are a client of Medicare and Medicaid. These taxpayer funded things like Medicare and Medicaid are insurance companies they do deny claims. Something your caseworker will not tell you.
Currently here in Alaska, Oregon and home state of Washington there is no penalty for jaywalking. Police have no authority to issue a ticket unless a jurisdiction has it on the books.
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