The Dangers of Jaywalking

image John Walkenbach gave me a heads up about this image, which has been puzzling visitors to his blog. Is it real or fake? His readers have already figured out that the message on the front of the bus means "cross on the zebra crossing" (or something to that effect) in Portuguese. In other words, it's warning people not to jaywalk, or they'll end up hit by a bus. It's hard to tell with such a low-resolution image whether or not it's real, but my hunch would be that it is real. I don't see any obvious signs of photoshopping. It reminds me of the 'Air Santa' image that was circulating around a few years ago (which seems a bit more fake to me).
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Photos

Posted on Thu Aug 11, 2005



Comments

seems real enough, you can make out the grill through the legs. Obviously its not a real person but a real advertisement/public service message.

I am a bit concerned that it obstructs the drivers view so much it may very well end up causing a real accident
Posted by Chuck  on  Thu Aug 11, 2005  at  01:03 PM
Yeah, the entire body is transparent, and his left leg suddenly ends at the ankle with the street visible beneath. It's obviously photoshopped.
Posted by Egret N.  on  Thu Aug 11, 2005  at  01:22 PM
I dont think anyone is argueing wether or not its a real guy, rather is it actually painted on or photoshopped. Its hard to tell but imho I would think its real, but the blood may be photoshopped, and maybe the cracking. Just a thought.
Posted by Mister B  on  Thu Aug 11, 2005  at  02:11 PM
The sign is indeed in Portuguese, and the translation is correct.

It's part of an educative campaign by the Brazilian Companhia de Engenharia de Trafego - CET -- of Sao Paulo.

More details about the sticker and its authors in
http://www.desencannes.com/perolas/detalhes_alternativa.php?id=4
Posted by Kentaro Mori  on  Thu Aug 11, 2005  at  11:04 PM
Ooops. I was wrong. The website Desencannes is actually about brilliant advertising ideas that could never be actually used.

The ad is imaginary. You may look at the other imaginary ads on the website.
http://www.desencannes.com/perolas.php
Posted by Kentaro Mori  on  Thu Aug 11, 2005  at  11:13 PM
Of *course* it is fake. Are you guys dense? You can't legally drive a bus with a cracked windshield - he couldn't see the mirrors through it anyway.

Sorry for being an asshole, but that should be the first thing you notice.
Posted by Andy/Rick  on  Thu Aug 11, 2005  at  11:40 PM
thats kind of a stretch to claim that just because you cant legally drive a bus with a cracked windshield it is fake...obviously it obstructs the drivers view which was pointed out in the first comment on this story...to glean from that that it is obviously fake is an assumption....the site it originates from (thanks Kentaro) is in Porteguese which I dont speak but does state the the application is in the form of an adhesive film...so the question I think is still valid...is the picture real? the question is not whether the bus drives around with that on it..maybe its just parked as a sort of billboard..or maybe the adhesive was put on just once for the pic then removed...the question is did this scene ever actually exist (even if just for a few minutes while the pic was snapped) or is it completely fake i.e. a pic of a bus altered in a Photoshop type program...just my opinion of course
Posted by Chuck  on  Fri Aug 12, 2005  at  07:01 AM
Remember people, what is in question here is not if a real person has been hit by a bus in this photo. What we're trying to determine is whether the ad depicting a man being hit by a bus is actually on the bus we see in this photo, or if someone took a picture of a bus and photoshopped the ad onto it.

With that said, I can't see any reason why this isn't real. I've been on many buses which have ads covering the windows, and they're designed in such a way that they don't really obstruct one's view from inside.

And considering how 90% of the opinions of the Bear / Golf Course thread stated that that photo was photoshopped, when it fact it was real, I'm just going to ignore what everyone here thinks anyway.
Posted by AqueousBoy  on  Fri Aug 12, 2005  at  07:17 AM
I liked the subway ad on that site (spread female legs, crotch-door.)
Posted by Craig  on  Fri Aug 12, 2005  at  08:16 AM
The image is photoshopped, made by the Brazilian website Desencannes, which presents brilliant ad ideas that could never be actually used.
http://www.desencannes.com/perolas/detalhes_alternativa.php?id=4
Posted by Kentaro Mori  on  Fri Aug 12, 2005  at  11:39 PM
I dunno, I could imagine the penguin ad being used...

also, I like the 'mmmm, donuts' one.
Posted by Laser Potato  on  Sun Aug 14, 2005  at  04:54 AM
The plane photo is actually real. Ryanair (Ireland's ultra-cheapo airline) painted a plane like that for the Christmas season a few years back. Not sure if they still do ...
Posted by AirNut  on  Sun Aug 14, 2005  at  09:36 PM
I am from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and I can say that the bus is real, the logo of the Traffic Company is correct and the fonts and colors used are similar to the ones used in traffic campaigns, but the ad is not real.
Posted by daniel  on  Tue Aug 16, 2005  at  01:50 PM
LOVE the idea! :D It could be pulled off, too, btw. There is such a thing as see-through adhesive for vehicles which could be used in such a case. It has very tiny holes in it, so the driver/passengers can see out but from the outside, it looks opaque. The image is a bit grotesque, but I've no doubt it would be noticed!
Posted by ruth  on  Wed Aug 17, 2005  at  08:12 PM
My guess is that it is real. Look at the left wrist/hand. The wrist is broken where the divider for the windshield is and the hand in under the wiper. Just what would be done if it was real but if photoshopped the artist would have covered the frame and wiper to make it look like a real accident.
Posted by Christopher Cole  on  Thu Aug 18, 2005  at  02:24 PM
Its a possible ad to put on a bus. There are buses that drive around the downtown area of the city I live in which have ads on the side of them. Their opaque from the outside but you can see just fine from the inside. Although I'm not too sure how long something like that would be driven around a city. Most the blood and cracked windshield are photoshopped.
Posted by TC  on  Fri Aug 19, 2005  at  12:10 PM
Ok, it is apparant that this picture was photoshopped. Think about this: if you were that bus driver, and you had *just* hit a person walkingin front of the bus, would you just be sitting there with an idiotic look on your face? I'd hope to God not. I would probably be freaking out and trying to see if the person was hurt or not. Secondly, last time I checked, there is a thing present on Earth called GRAVITY. Bodies that get hit by vehicles don't just flat on the front of the vehicle all yuckified. They have a tendancy to FALL to the GROUND. Come one people. Use a little common sense. If the photo wasn't photoshopped, then it was painted on the bus. Sheeeeesh.
Posted by Stace  on  Fri Aug 26, 2005  at  08:14 PM
Umm, to the guy above me. It's supposedly an ad. None of us think it's a real person. . .
Posted by Caleb Barrett  on  Mon Sep 12, 2005  at  11:51 AM
Hey I would just like to clarify that the Santa on the plane is definitely not a hoax. Its used to be on British Airways carriers and as a Brit I owuld often see them at Heathrow. Just FYI.
Posted by merve  on  Wed Sep 21, 2005  at  05:14 AM
i think that jaywalking should be at ur own risk and not be a penitty
Posted by jen  on  Tue Nov 13, 2007  at  12:22 PM
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