Crackdown On Crosswalks Sting Operation Seeks To Remind Drivers To Yield To Pedestrians

Exercise caution this week if you are inclined to motor through crosswalks with little regard for pedestrians.

A faux walker might be there to take you down.

As part of a push to improve traffic safety, Spokane police are targeting scofflaw drivers Thursday with the debut of a “pedestrian sting” operation.

Officers hope the exercise will send a message to motorists who don’t yield to walkers between the white lines.

“The point of this is not to write tickets,” said Cpl. Brad Hallock of the Spokane Police Department. “It’s the safety angle.”

The fine for failing to yield to a pedestrian is $71.

Although major crime in Spokane has dropped, traffic fatalities have increased recently.

Four pedestrians were killed within the city limits last year - the most since 1996.

Along with the one-day sting, police will use other tactics to try to improve roadway safety.

Last week, a state patrol airplane was enlisted for spotting high school keg parties.

Other efforts will include beefing up patrols in school and park zones as well as organizing “wolf packs” - crews of motorcycle officers who rigorously target a specific area for violators.

Hallock, who will act as the decoy walker Thursday, wasn’t able to say where the pedestrian sting will be conducted. Problem areas are still being determined.

But police will videotape the exercise. And Hallock has worked out the math that lets him know when he can step into the road and still give drivers fair time to stop.

“We’re giving multiple benefits of the doubt to the driver,” Hallock said.

This sidebar appeared with the story:

The law

State law requires drivers to stop at marked and unmarked crosswalks (intersections) if a pedestrian is in the driver’s half of the roadway or if the pedestrian is within one lane of that driver’s half of the roadway.