Crackdown on pedestrian-related violations nets 17 citations
Most drivers did stop for walkers
Police cited 17 drivers Thursday for not yielding to pedestrians during a sting operation conducted by the Porterville Police Department.
During the operation, officers in marked police cars were stationed near several intersections within the city where numerous injury pedestrian crashes have occurred. The officers in the police cars monitored the traffic while an officer in plain clothes crossed the street at various times. The officer would stand on the curb in plain view of oncoming traffic for several seconds, with his demeanor and body language indicating his intention to safely and legally cross the street in the crosswalk, the police department reports. The officer would then step into the crosswalk to begin crossing, making sure approaching cars were far enough to have enough time to yield.
Police say the majority of drivers yielded appropriately, with many stopping before the officer stepped into the road. The drivers who did not yield to pedestrians were stopped and cited by the officers stationed nearby.
Porterville Police Officer Dominic Barteau said the operation is not a special event.
“We do this on a regular basis,” he said. “What we look for are issues that are in the highlights and right now we have the item of interest which is pedestrians are being hit in crosswalks so we did the detail on that.”
In addition to the pedestrian violations, two drivers were cited for driving with a suspended driver’s license, one driver was cited for driving without a driver’s license, and one driver was cited for talking on a cell phone while driving.
The PPD reports that Thursday’s operation was the first of many to come that will focus on enforcement on both drivers and pedestrians who violate the law.
Barteau said the operation was definitely a success.
“It was a success for a couple of reasons in that we did cite the drivers and we publicized the effort we’re doing,” he said.
There have been approximately 20 pedestrian-involved collisions this year in Porterville, four of those fatals.
Anyone with questions about traffic safety, can contact the Porterville Police Department’s traffic unit at 782-7554 or 782-7400.
