I wrote about Czech pedestrians and their willingness to wait on traffic lights several months ago. This past weekend, I particularly noticed the phenomenon again. I was waiting at a traffic light, and on the other side of the street, there were a couple of Prague police officers and another couple. The couple, after checking to make sure that there was no oncoming traffic, started across the street. One of the police officers started calling after them, but they ignored her until they had crossed the street. Only then did they look behind them to acknowledge the officer. I couldn’t understand what the officer said, but from her gestures and her tone, I would guess that it was something along the lines of, "Get back here and wait for the light". The couple shrugged and went on, while the pair of officers waited for the light. I turned around to peek after crossing the street, but no, the officers did not set off in hot pursuit of the jaywalking pair.
I mentioned this to the students in one of my classes and found that the penalties for jaywalking, in Prague at least, are quite stiff. In fact, if you’re the victim of an accident that occurs when you are crossing against the light, you will leave the hospital only to be hit with a citation and a hefty fine. That "The pedestrian has the right of way" is apparently an entirely foreign concept here.
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