It’s something a lot of people do, even though they shouldn’t — but soon it will be a little less wrong, at least in Virginia.
On March 1, jaywalking will be decriminalized in Virginia, thanks to a bill from Virginia state Del. Patrick Hope, a Democrat from Arlington.
Jaywalking will still be illegal, but it will no longer be a primary offense — meaning a pedestrian can’t be stopped and ticketed if jaywalking is the only thing a person is doing wrong.
Hope’s measure was introduced as part of a police reform bill, in which officers stop a person for a minor violation, as a way to look for more serious crimes.
Safety advocates don’t like the new law, saying it comes at time of increased pedestrian deaths.
