Jaywalking

At the end of almost every crosswalk in Taipei City, there is the familiar "walk/don't walk" indicator. Along with a little green man, whose glowing bulbs actually flash to show it walking in place, there is the countdown of how long you have to cross the street. I have very mixed feelings about crosswalks in Taipei. On the upside, it takes all the guessing out of crossing the street. Many times I have been almost a block away from the crosswalk and saw the green man pacing in his yellow box. Instead of breaking into an uncomfortable trot to try to make the light, I see that I have a 68 second cushion, allowing me to continue my leisurely stroll across the street.

One thing is for sure, though: People don't jaywalk in Taiwan. No matter how many seconds left until the light changes, how wide the street is, it just doesn't happen. As a New Yorker, I'm inclined to step out onto the pavement as soon as I see an opportunity to squeeze between two cars. However, the amount of peer pressure I've felt from the Taiwanese people has done nothing short of snuff out those temptations.

Consider this... I was walking by myself, and I came to an intersection where my green man had just fizzled out only to be replaced by his evil twin- the little red man. He reappeared on the adjacent corner along with the number 97. The scene was desolate. I was at the only intersection in Taiwan where there weren't any cars or scooters. I looked around, and it was only me and a Taiwanese gentleman, who was next to me, waiting patiently on the sidewalk. At 85 seconds, still no cars had passed. I could see at least a quarter of a mile in either direction. Nothing. 70 seconds. I glanced at the man, as if to say, "If you go, I'll go, too. We don't have to tell anyone about this," but his eyes remained fixed on the red man. I glared at him, then leaned over the curb, giving an exaggerated look in both directions, then looked back at him. I could have easily been 100 yards closer to my destination, but the 3-way stalemate between this Taiwanese man, his glowing red counterpart, and the green pedestrian was too much for me to overcome.

Finally, I gave up trying to mentally persuade the man into crossing the empty street with me. 30 seconds to go, and a lone scooter zips through the intersection. 3, 2, 1. There is always a 5 second grace period where everyone gets the glaring red man. The man held strong. Finally, our little green savior appeared, and the Taiwanese man looked both ways and crossed the street.

The only conclusion I can come to after a few episodes similar to this is that Jaywalking is a capital offense, punishable only by tar and feathers, followed by being paraded through the city to be hanged in front of a large crowd.