The term jay driver originated to refer to carriage drivers 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, it was used more specifically to individuals who drive a vehicle on the incorrect side of the road. Merriam-Webster 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" 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....
Kevin Marks
All GNU social JP content and data are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.