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* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *
PEDESTRIAN RIGHT-OF-WAY
STING YIELDS RESULTS
Berkeley,
CA. – On
Tuesday February 25, 2003, The Berkeley Police
Department Traffic Division conducted the first Pedestrian Right-of-Way
Sting Operation of 2003. The operation involved four uniformed BPD
motor officers, as well as an undercover officer posing as a
pedestrian.
The focus area chosen was the heavily used crosswalk at Bancroft
Way
and Ellsworth Street, close to the University Of California, Berkeley
campus.
These
operations are part of an ongoing effort by the Berkeley Police
Department to educate motorists regarding pedestrian safety, and respond
to community complaints that motorists ignore their efforts to
cross at various
intersections throughout the City Of Berkeley.
During
the 2-hour operation, BPD Officers issued forty (40) citations to
motorists for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk or passing
a
vehicle stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, both violations
of
California Vehicle Code.(CVC) One bicyclist failed to yield the right of
way
to a pedestrian in the crosswalk and was amongst those who rode away
with
a traffic citation.
Since
July of 2001, the BPD Traffic Bureau has conducted ten (10) such
sting operations during which officers issued 288 pedestrian
right-of-way
citations.
On
January 17, 2003, a 78 year old male pedestrian died from injuries
he suffered after being hit by a car at Shattuck Avenue & Woolsey
Street.
His death marked Berkeley’s first traffic fatality of the year.
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