This holiday weekend the Sea Girt Police Department will be conducting a pedestrian decoy operation in the area along First Avenue during the afternoon hours. This area will be targeted due to the high number of pedestrians who cross at the various intersections to walk to the beach and bathing pavilion. The Sea Girt Police Department receives complaints from citizens about drivers who often fail to stop as required.
The purpose of the pedestrian decoy operation is to target drivers who are discourteous to pedestrians crossing in designated crosswalks and help educate drivers who are not familiar with the pedestrian right of way laws.
During the operation an officer, in plain clothes will cross the roadway at clearly marked, designated crosswalks. These officers will make it clear that they intend to cross the roadway. Violators of the pedestrian right of way laws will be stopped and educated in an effort to prevent future pedestrian collisions. Officers will also take the opportunity to educate pedestrians who are observed crossing in areas other than designated crosswalks.
In 2012 (the latest statistics published by the State Police) there were 553 traffic fatalities in the State of New Jersey and 163 of those were pedestrians1. In Monmouth County there were 10 pedestrians killed in traffic collisions in 20122. New Jersey has a high pedestrian fatality rate, at 1.58 per 100,000 population, it ranks 11th worst in the nation (2010)3.
Drivers in the State of New Jersey are required to stop and stay stopped for pedestrians who are crossing a roadway in a crosswalk and no driver shall pass a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk. Pedestrians crossing New Jersey’s streets shall cross at crosswalks when available. Drivers who fail to stop for a pedestrian in marked crosswalk is subject to 2 points and a $200.00 plus any applicable court costs or insurance surcharges.
Pedestrian decoy enforcement operations are expected to take place periodically throughout the busy summer months in Sea Girt and various locations. Pedestrian safety is always a concern and therefore our officers will routinely enforce these laws at all times while out on patrol.
The Sea Girt Police Department hopes, through publicizing this enforcement operation in advance, the number of violations will be greatly reduced and pedestrian crossings will be safer.
1 http://www.njsp.org/info/fatalacc/pdf/swfcs2_12.pdf
2 http://www.njsp.org/info/fatalacc/pdf/ptccr_12.pdf
3 PSE Training Resource – Civic Eye Collabrative