People had to be trained not to cross the street…

when automobiles became commonplace. Or actually before they became commonplace.

Prior to that people just walked across the road as casual as could be. Horses walking were something easily dodged, but as faster cars were made, there would be no value in them if people were constantly crossing the street. The automobile companies knew this. So, they lobbied for political help.

This is when jaywalking became a crime.

I’ve known jaywalking is illegal for a long time, yet I’ve seen it many times, and done it in places that were safe to do so, and never been ticketed even after being seen by police on a couple occasions. Perhaps because the streets were obviously dead, but also probably because while it use to hold importance for the automobile companies, training the public not to jump out in front of cars, nowadays its work is complete. No one crosses the road without looking and paying attention. If crossing the road safely while waiting for cars, then it’s just not worth fining an otherwise law abiding citizen.

Technology takes a while to change behaviors. People have to understand what it does, but also the dangers that it presents. Once they do, things start to improve. I certainly hope we will some day reach that point with some of the new technologies emerging today.