In high school religion class, my teacher talked about the difference between crimes and sins.

For instance, murder, he said, goes both against the law and against religion. But while a man who fails to honour his mother and father won’t go to prison, he is neglecting the Christian Ten Commandments.

Further yet, there are rules that society expects people to break, such as driving a few kilometres over the speed limit. 

In Jasper, it’s idling. The bicycle-friendly, light-on-emissions town of the summer quickly becomes the cars-running-with-no-owner-in-sight town once frigid winter temperatures set in.

And who can blame us? I’m as guilty as anyone, as I’ve left my vehicle to “warm up” a few minutes before driving away in the morning. The engine barely starts, so I like to let it get used to the idea of running awhile before asking anything more of it.

Puffs of white smoke billow out from exhaust pipes all over Jasper, especially in parts of town where residents can’t park their cars close enough to their houses to plug in their block-heaters. 

The rule we’re breaking? Jasper’s anti-idling bylaw. It still applies on the coldest days of winter, according to the town’s bylaw enforcement manager Doug Rodwell, though there is a provision that says drivers can idle their engines until their windows are free of frost and ice.

Though it’s against the law, residents and visitors alike idle and no one puts up a big fuss. 

There is one rule though, that drivers should not overlook when the icy wind blows – stopping for pedestrians.

Just because the stripey white lines that indicate a crosswalk are buried beneath the layer of hard-packed snow which we now call the road, doesn’t mean drivers are free to ignore chilly pedestrians waiting on the curb.

Give pedestrians the right of way, especially at designated crosswalks. We may not see the pavement again for a few months, but there are road signs that show their location. 

Whether people are on foot as a nod to the environment or because they don’t have wheels of their own, –38 C is downright painful, so help them get to where they’re going sooner and pause your heated vehicle for them to cross.

This is especially important as Jasper in January kicks off, and people take to the streets for the numerous activities and events that go on. 

Failure to stop for a pedestrian may be against the law, but more importantly, it’s impolite. Keep them in mind as you cruise the town, and make this winter a little warmer.