Comment 91517

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted August 29, 2013 at 09:33:39

In the US police officers often run so-called "pedestrian decoy" campaigns to enforce the duty of motorists to stop for crossing pedestrians.

The police, in plain clothes, wait for a safe gap and then cross. They warn or ticket motorists who fail to yield.

It would be a huge help if the Hamilton Police Service would launch a similar campaign here, centred on the new zebra crossings. This would have the following benefits:

  1. It could be rolled out with a press campaign, as they do for the crack-downs on drunk drivers, "jaywalkers" and cyclists.

  2. It would help educate motorists about their duties to yield and emphasize that pedestrians have a right to cross, and don't need to wait until they can cross completely (which is very difficult on a four lane street, especially for the young or elderly).

  3. It would help police see for themselves the challenges pedestrians face every day in Hamilton just trying to get around.

  4. It might even add extra impetus to the need to add signs like those on the McMaster campus and in the US that remind motorists they must yield to crossing pedestrians.

  5. It would make pedestrians more confident that the police are looking to protect their traffic rights and safety as well as those of motorists.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-08-29 09:40:25

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