Police to Target Drivers at Crosswalks

During the months of March and April, the San Marino Police will be extra vigilant about motorists who fail to stop for pedestrians, especially students, the San Marino Police Department said Monday in a CLEARS message.

The Pedestrian Safety Operations involve officers and pedestrian decoys who will use the crosswalks along Huntington Drive to ensure motorists yield as required by the California Vehicle Code.

Police will also be targeting motorists starting April 23, when and students will participate in a three week challenge to walk or ride their bikes to school every morning due to a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant from the federal government. The grant aims to encourage students to walk or bicycle to and from school instead of being driven to school and will be used to educate and encourage students and drivers to use safe practices on their commute, especially as they travel on Huntington Drive, according to Safe Routes to School Grant Coordinator Mary Ulin.

Each participating student will receive a bar code tag to attach to his or her backpack. When the student arrives at school a volunteer parent will scan the bar code, which will immediately send an email to the student’s parent, said Ulin.

where officers dressed in civilian clothes acted as pedestrians crossing at Huntington Drive and Chelsea Road. Cars who did not completely stop until the pedestrian was out of the crosswalk were pulled over for a warning or ticket. In all, 119 drivers were cited at the time.

Pedestrian Crossing Law

San Marino Police will be enforcing the following vehicle code relating to pedestrians:

California Vehicle Code Section 21950.(a) says,

"The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

   (b) This section does not relieve a pedestrian from the duty of using due care for his or her safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.

   (c) The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian."

For example a car travelling 40 MPH (the posted speed limit on Huntington Drive) will take about 60 feet to stop, according to SMPD. If you are beyond this distance and there is a pedestrian entering or in the crosswalk, the driver is expected to yield to the pedestrian.

What do you think about police using pedestrian decoys to target motorists at crosswalks? What do you think of the Safe Routes to School program? Tell us in the comments.