Brian L. forwarded us a link to a Seattle P-I blog post, Police target drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians:
Seattle police cited 53 drivers last Friday for failing to yield to pedestrians during another special emphasis on crosswalk safety.
For an hour, plainclothes officers crossed back and forth in the crosswalks at two intersections: 41st Avenue and Stone Way in Wallingford and Martin Luther King Jr. Way and East Alder Street in the Central Area.
One-third of all crossings resulted in a driver who failed to yield, according to Seattle police. Scofflaws were stopped and cited by nearby uniformed officers nearby.
“These sting operations have been going on since last summer. […]” said City Councilmember Tim Burgess, chairman of the committee on Public Safety, Human Services and Education.
“Be careful, the next pedestrian you cut off could be your favorite plainclothes detective.”
We prefer to read the “one third of all crossings resulted in a driver who failed to yield” as “two-thirds of all drivers yielded to pedestrians”. The more interesting question, though, is how did Wallingford stack up against the CD?
At the Wallingford location, officers issued 32 citations for failing to yield to pedestrians; four for no proof of insurance, two for suspended drivers licenses; one for driving while on a cell phone; and 4 for unnamed violations. The citations were issued between 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. Officers crossed the street 62 times and watched as 29 did the same, according to an e-mail to the City Council.
At the Central Area spot, officers issued 21 citations for failing to yield to pedestrians; 8 for lacking proof of insurance; two for suspended licenses, two for improper display, one for a red light violation, and three for expired tabs. Officers also warned two drivers, according to an e-mail to the City Council.
Officers crossed the street 60 times and watched as seven pedestrians walked in the crosswalk.
That’s a 35% failure rate for Wallingford vs 31% for the CD.
Probably Ballard drivers rushing home.
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Having been hit by a car (at a much younger and easier to heal age) with a driver that wasn’t paying attention (on his way to his girlfriend’s place), I urge all drivers to pay attention, slow down and yield the right-of-way to pedestrians. Not just to avoid a ticket, but to save injuries from negligence. I was “lucky” it was just a broken femur….
I think Ballard drivers take Aurora or 15th, but I would like to ask Phinney and Fremont to join us in slowing down. That being said, I haven’t had any problems and I live at 50th and 1st. I think we have some pretty nice drivers, overall. Also, that 41st and Stone crosswalk can be a bit confusing, I think another light would do more for safety than citations affecting a small percentage of the actual users. 🙂
Having almost been hit a number of times in the crosswalk at 45th and Meridian, I’m happy to see some enforcement in the neighborhood. It’s kind of shocking to think that A THIRD of drivers didn’t bother to stop for someone in the crosswalk. That’s actually kind of terrible.
I’m also a little shocked at the high rate of suspended licenses. 2 out of 32 cars? Because they weren’t pulled over for that; there’s no way to know until you ask to see it.
Driving on a suspended license should be automatic vehicle confiscation and permanent loss of the right to drive.