Source: USA Today
Californians will soon be able to jaywalk without getting ticketed, allowing pedestrians to informally cross streets "as long as it’s safe to do so."
The change comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed "The Freedom To Walk Act" on Friday, Assemblymember Phil Ting, who sponsored the bill, announced. The new law, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, says police officers can only ticket someone jaywalking when there is "an immediate danger of a collision."
Jaywalking laws have been around since the emergence of cars, and while it is illegal in many states, it's hardly enforced in major cities like New York City. Ting said the laws are "arbitrarily enforced" in California, and up until 2018, pedestrians could be ticketed for crossing a designed crosswalk when the countdown meter began to flash.