The term jay driver originated to refer to

carriage drivers A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

who drove on the incorrect side of the road. While the term may generally refer to an individual operating a vehicle in a manner not consistent with

traffic laws Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic l ...

, it was used more specifically to individuals who drive a vehicle on the incorrect side of the road.

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...

indicates that the first known use of the term is by ''The Junction City Union'' newspaper on June 28, 1905.

Relationship to "jaywalker"

Most sources indicate that the term "jay driver" came before "

jaywalker Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway that has traffic, other than at a designated crossing point, or otherwise, in disregard of traffic rules. The term originated in the United States as a derivation of the phras ...

" there being numerous article headlines from 1905 through the next decade that include the term "Jay Driver." Peter Norton's book ''Fighting Traffic'' on 78 indicates that in 1922 use of the term "jay driver" was an attempt by George A. Davies to use the known meaning of "jay walker" and apply it to drivers of vehicles. However, an opinion piece attributed to "A MAN BOOSTER" from the January 17, 1907 ''Salt Lake Telegram'' titled "Oh yes, there's the 'Jay Driver'" describes in it both jay walkers and jay drivers. However, another article from November 11, 1919 in ''The Pittsburgh Gazette Times'' cites from the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' the text: "There are so many jay walkers and so many jay drivers that it hardly behooves any driver to talk about jay walkers, or any walker to mention jay drivers," clearly demonstrating that the term existed prior to that time.

In media

A 1939 instructional video overdubbed by the voice of an official from a British agency indicates that the term was not isolated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Title
School For Jay-Drivers!
the video provides an example of a motorcycle rider in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

failing to give the proper signal who is then required to attend a Sunday morning class in which an instructor explains what he did incorrectly and what the rules indicate he should have done.

References

{{reflist Horse driving Traffic law