Committee Debates Fining Jaywalkers

The Joint Committee on Highways and Motor Vehicles will hold hearings this morning on two bills which would permit all Massachusetts cities to fine jaywalkers.

"By an antiquated concept of law, pedestrians in this state now have a prior right to the highway," according to Robert S. Kretschmar, Massachusetts director of the AAA and originator of one of the bills. "The motorist and the pedestrian should have equal responsibility," he added.

Kretschmar's proposal seeks to provide for a penalty against pedestrians crossing streets except with the lights and on marked crosswalks.

Many cities, including Cambridge, Kretschmar stated, have had difficulty keeping people from crossing against the lights. Under the present laws, he explained, not even police officers can tell pedestrians when not to cross.