Halt jaywalker

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kia Atkins
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  It was a warm, summer night as I drove back to my dorm from the on-base movie theatre. I was obeying the traffic laws and ensuring that I was going the speed limit when suddenly I had to stop my car in the middle of the road. It's a good thing I have 20/20 vision or I might not have seen them. Walking side-by-side in the middle of the road were about eight people, none of which were wearing reflective gear.

I was confused. Was this road closed for foot-traffic only? No, that couldn't be it. Working in public affairs, I see the Commander's Access Channel daily and I couldn't recall anything about a road closure for that day. Maybe there was some sort of Air Force or 35th Fighter Wing Instruction that allowed pedestrians to walk, literally, in the middle of the road. Was I not up to date on my knowledge of mandated instructions? Maybe I had become old-fashioned in thinking that pedestrians were meant to be on the sidewalk and cars were supposed to be on the road.

Not wanting to overstep my bounds and tell the assumed jaywalkers that they were wrong for walking on the road without facts to back it up, I started my quest for knowledge. I walked down the hall to the 35 FW Safety Office to ask where I might find an Air Force Instruction that states that pedestrians are supposed to utilize the sidewalk and while I was at it, I called the 35th Security Forces Squadron to ask if there was a local instruction against it and if it was in fact punishable.

The safety office directed me to AFI 91-207, which states that individuals are not authorized to jog, run or walk on roadways with high traffic density and during peak traffic periods, as determined by the installation commander.

That seemed a little bit vague to me so I looked into a more local instruction, 35th Fighter Wing Instruction 31-204 to be precise, which states that when crosswalks are available, pedestrians will cross the roadway only at the crosswalk. It also says that if there are no pedestrian crosswalks available, the pedestrian will yield to traffic and will not cross the street until traffic has passed or comes to a complete stop and the driver directs you to cross.

What are consequences of disregarding 35th Fighter Wing Instruction 31-204? Well, according to the 35 SFS and the instruction itself, pedestrians who violate this instruction may be given citations for jaywalking that will be forwarded to their unit commander or agency chief for action. So, it would seem that the road is in fact not a giant sidewalk for pedestrians. Who knew?

I may come off sounding a little naggy, but there's a reason the road is for vehicles. I know that I would have a hard time living with myself if I ever seriously injured someone with my car. Maybe next time you decide that the best place to walk is the middle of the street, you'll think about how you could make others feel or how you would feel if you ran someone over. Everyone's life is important, so please remember where you should be walking, i.e. the sidewalk.