Jaywalking at Rio Norte has been a problem for many years, and it is very dangerous. Someone is jaywalking when they cross the street when there is no crosswalk. Many 7th and 8th graders have been putting themselves in harm’s way when crossing the street before and after school, and it needs to stop. Jaywalking can cause many problems on the streets, including crashes, major injuries, and even deaths. It can cause crashes because if a person is jaywalking, drivers would have to swerve to avoid them. This can cause two cars to crash into each other, which would be harmful to both drivers. Jaywalking can also cause injuries, for both the driver and the pedestrian that is jaywalking. If the jaywalker gets hit, they can sustain major injuries to their head, body, and legs. This can also cause the driver to stop, blocking traffic and maybe even causing more injuries or crashes to others. 

Another reason jaywalking is bad is because it can cause death to the people doing it. 7,485 pedestrians have died on the streets of the United States in 2021, most of these deaths probably due to jaywalking. 

The website ‘popcenter.asu.edu’, says, “On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic collision every 113 minutes and injured every eight minutes.” This shows that many people die every day due to jaywalking. This is a problem because this means that many people have died due to this, yet many of the students at Rio Norte have been jaywalking almost every day. A negative aspect of jaywalking is that it is illegal. If you jaywalk in California, you would have to pay a fine of up to $200! This is also enforcing the safety of citizens, making consequences for those who chose to put themselves in danger. Jaywalking can be harmful to you, and laws are trying to make it so we don’t have to put ourselves in danger without knowing.

Last year, our principal, Mr. Ferry tried to address this problem, but not many listened. He emailed Rio Norte’s parents and said, “Please ONLY have your child cross the street at Rio Norte Dr and Vista Del Rio with the assistance of our crossing guard.” This shows the attempts of Mr. Ferry, to try to get the children to stop jaywalking, which proved unsuccessful. When asked about how she felt about her students jaywalking, our new principal, Mrs. Bennett said, “I want students to be safe and it’s not safe when you’re jaywalking. Often when students break rules, it’s because they don’t understand the importance of the rule or, like in this case, they’re in a hurry to get somewhere and see a more direct route, so they decide to break the rule instead of going out of their way to get to the crosswalk. What I want Rio students to vista Del Rio with the assistance of our crossing guard.” This shows the attempts of Mr. Ferry, to try to get the children to stop jaywalking, which proved unsuccessful. When asked about how she felt about her students jaywalking, our new principal, Mrs. Bennett said, “I want students to be safe and it’s not safe when you’re jaywalking. Often when students break rules, it’s because they don’t understand the importance of the rule or, like in this case, they’re in a hurry to get somewhere and see a more direct route, so they decide to break the rule instead of going out of their way to get to the crosswalk. What I want Rio students to

understand is when they break rules that are in place for their safety, they could be putting their lives in danger. School staff has frequently seen jaywalking students get hit or injured, sometimes seriously injured, and that is why we want students to follow this rule. Every student that has been seriously hurt in a jaywalking incident didn’t think it could happen to them or they wouldn’t have jaywalked so please don’t do it.” No students need to die from carelessness, so if you see someone jaywalking while coming or leaving school, tell them to stop and consider the dangers of doing it.

Jaywalking may be quicker than waiting at the crosswalk, but can cost you money and maybe even your life. Don’t jaywalk and prevent others from doing it as well!