SATAN'S MURDERING MACHINES: Fascinating historical piece by Sarah Goodyear on how the concept of "jaywalking" was invented by America's auto industry to prevent heavy government regulation of urban driving in the 1920s and to overcome the common-law rule that in the case of a collision, the larger, heavier vehicle was deemed to be at fault.
More here, including etymology: a "‘jay’ was a hayseed, out of place in the city; a jaywalker was someone who did not know how to walk in a city."
They don't even mention that paved roads were originally built for bicyclists, not motorists.
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