Police hoping ‘decoy’ officer gets drivers to stop for pedestrians
Apr 3, 2018, 5:45 PM | Updated: Apr 5, 2018, 9:05 pm
OGDEN — Drivers were put to the test Tuesday as Ogden police conducted a crosswalk enforcement operation.
An officer dressed in street clothes stood at the intersection of Harrison Blvd. and 35th Street during the morning commute. If cars did not stop when that officer began to cross, other officers in cars and on motorcycles were nearby to make a stop. The sting lasted five hours.
“They had 73 citations issued in that short time frame,” said Ogden Police Captain Danielle Croyle.
In a few instances, the officer was almost hit in the crosswalk.
Police chose this intersection partly because of past incidents. In 2005, 67-year-old Lynn Gilbert, a crossing guard, was placing orange cones in the road when he was hit by a car and killed.
Ogden resident Bethany Chacon knows the dangers of the intersection well. She often walks where she needs to go and lately she has her infant daughter with her in a stroller as she crosses busy streets.
“Most people don’t stop. They just keep going,” said Chacon. “They’ve almost hit my baby before, too. And that’s one thing that really scares me is trying to cross and they don’t want to stop even for a baby.”
Utah law says drivers must stop for pedestrians and wait until that pedestrian is halfway across the road before proceeding. In a school zone, drivers are required to wait until pedestrians are all the way across.
Police say today’s operation was an effort to remind drivers of the law and to show how important it is for them to pay attention.
“There’s a lot of variety of things, eating, putting on makeup, all of those types of things are distracting drivers,” said Captain Croyle.
Chacon hopes it makes a difference.
“We do have the right of way, but people think that because they’re in traffic, we don’t have the right of way,” she said. “As soon as we step out they’re supposed to slow down and stop. But they don’t.”
Ogden police will continue crosswalk enforcement for the next two weeks. A grant from the Utah Highway Safety Office is helping pay for overtime for the officers involved.
