Pedestrian access, safety and the American Automobile Association

As part of their deliberate effort to redefine roadways for the exclusive use of automobiles at the expense of access and safety for anybody else, the American Automobile Association from their founding days recast pedestrians as the scofflaw other, while motorists are almost universally law abiding citizens.

From the February 9, 1922 issue of Michigan Roads and Forests Weekly: “Light percentage of blame for accidents attached to drivers.” You’ve got to love the clearly hyperbolic closing sentence, which claims “The jay-walker is the most serious menace to traffic safety today.”


The jay-walker is the most serious menace to traffic safety today

Be very afraid of the deadly pedestrian menace! Punish! Kill! Exterminate!

Or if that seems to messy and extreme, then socialize them to behave better around cars. Even today, California Senators Noreen Evans (Santa Rosa) and Mark DeSaulnier (Concord) believe pedestrians are the problem when it comes to traffic safety, if their Senate Resolution 12 17 is any evidence.

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