The South Pasadena Police Department worked with additional law enforcement agencies Wednesday morning to promote pedestrian safety, during which time officers wrote 114 tickets.
The three-hour operation centered on the 2000 block of Huntington Drive, which South Pasadena Sgt. Brian Solinsky described as a dangerous area where many near-misses occur. The location was chosen based in part from community members concerned about drivers failing to yield to pedestrians.
“The purpose of the directed enforcement is to educate public and raise awareness for both the motorists and pedestrians.,, it’s become a very serious issue,” Solinsky said in a prepared statement, adding that traffic collisions involving pedestrians account for many of the injury related collisions in South Pasadena.
“Safety is our primary concern, along with an educational component. We would like to remind drivers they must yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked or unmarked crosswalk,” he said.
Wednesday's citations ranged from failing to yield to pedestrians and overtaking vehicles that had stopped for pedestrians to driving without a license. The additional agencies involved were LA County Sheriff’s Department, Alhambra Police, Monterey Park Police, and Cal. State LA Police.
California Vehicle Code:
• Section 21950(a) states: “The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.”
• Section 21950(b) states: “This section does not relieve a pedestrian from the duty of using due care for his or her safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. No pedestrian may unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk.”
• California Vehicle Code defines a crosswalk as either: (a) That portion of a roadway included within the prolongation or connection of the boundary lines of sidewalks at intersection where the intersecting roadways met at approximately right angles, except the prolongation of such lines from an alley across a street; or (b) Any portion of the roadway distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.
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