It’s great to be a pedestrian—in Seattle, that is, where a stroll down the street is downright empowering.

There seems to be an inevitable conflict on city streets between people on foot and drivers of motor vehicles. Not so in Seattle, where drivers scrupulously respect the rights of pedestrians and gallantly yield right-of-way to folks on foot. Some attribute this anomaly to the notorious politeness of Pacific Northwest residents, or the legacy of a large Scandinavian population. Others cite Washington State’s driving laws which clearly define the rights of pedestrians and impose strict penalties for those who trespass upon them.

I tend to buy the politeness argument, for as a driver I have witnessed a corresponding civility among pedestrians. In most large cities, pedestrians blithely ignore traffic signals. In Seattle, by contrast, pedestrians congregate obediently on street corners, gazing expectantly at the illuminated "wait" sign until it signals pemission to "walk." It is the rare pedestrian who disobeys the signal, and such a one will find himself proceeding alone, studiously ignored by the law-abiding crowd on the corner.

Seattle police, charged by law with ensuring the rights of driver and pedestrian alike, energetically issue citations to jaywalkers and other pedestrian scofflaws. I was reminded of this when I recently found myself part of a gaggle of pedestrians waiting for an unusually long wait signal. We could hear sirens in the distance and assumed an emergency vehicle had triggered a device which kept the "wait" signal on until the vehicle had passed. Only in Seattle would a discussion ensue among the pedestrians weighing the relative merits of waiting versus walking against the light, since no emergency vehicle (or any other motor vehicle for that matter) was in sight. One of the pro-waiting faction volunteered the cautionary tale of a second cousin on his mother’s side who was cited for jay-walking while holiday shopping in Seattle. The lively debate, joined in by newly arriving pedestrians, lasted some minutes before the group was brought to its senses by someone with obvious school-patrol experience, who looked out for traffic as the crowd moved warily to the other side.

When in Seattle, watch also for the standoff which can develop between man and machine. I refer to those situations in which the driver, seeing a pedestrian about to enter the street, halts to yield right-of-way. In response, the pedestrian motions for the vehicle to continue. The driver then replies with a gesture amounting to "Please, I insist!" Time moves on and traffic backs up as driver and pedestrian continue their impasse, horns locked in the pursuit of politeness.

I often wonder how Seattleites cope as pedestrians when venturing to other cities. Are they solitary figures waiting stoically on street corners for the light to change after everyone else has charged through the intersection, defying traffic signals and honking horns? Or would they consider it the better part of courtesy to bow to the will of the lawless majority? Unlikely.

When you’re in Seattle for FinnFest 99, experience life here as a pedestrian. Soon, you too will find yourself trusting in drivers to have good manners; perhaps even waiting patiently for the light to say "walk" although there’s not a car in sight. But be prepared to react quickly as you put your best foot forward into the crosswalk. That car barreling around the corner in your direction could be a rental driven by a tourist from Helsinki.

John Stephens