Effective January 1, 2023, Jaywalking has been decriminalized. No longer can individuals be detained, searched and cited for Jaywalking (crossing the street outside a designated cross walk) unless a reasonably careful person would realize there was an immediate danger.
According to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, "this crucial legislation will protect vulnerable pedestrians against arbitrary, racially-biased, pretextual policing, as well as burdensome fees and fines, and unnecessary, and potentially lethal, interactions with law enforcement
AB 2147/The Freedom To Walk Act promotes the fair and equitable use of streets by:
Legalizing crossings outside of a crosswalk or against a traffic light when safe, thereby eliminating fines for safe crossings
Preventing police from using jaywalking as a pretext to stop Black and Brown people"
The full legislation can be found at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2147
That said, please use common sense and look both ways before crossing any street whether you are exercising your new freedom under AB 2147 or just using a crosswalk.
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