BOUNTIFUL—For close to a year, the Bountiful Police Department has made a concerted effort at enforcing crosswalk safety in the city. And the effect is being felt by both pedestrians using the crosswalks, and motorists who are failing to yield to them.

“Both the department and city council frequently get complaints from pedestrians about vehicles not giving them the right of way when they are using a crosswalk,” police chief Ed Biehler said. “Some of them relate to school zones, but many are on other roadways in the community not near schools or involving students.”

With school resource officers back in the patrol sequence since schools are out until late August, Biehler has used SROs to track speeding and traffic issues, adding the manpower to enforce the safety of crosswalks and cite drivers who violate the rules.

“We’ve worked the crosswalks where we get the bulk of complaints about pedestrian safety,” he said. “Those include Main Street, 500 South, Orchard Drive, 1800 South and 3100 South. A crosswalk infraction is like a traffic infraction–just like a speeding ticket.”

The program has led to an average of 12 to 15 cars an hour being stopped and drivers cited for not yielding to pedestrians – either not slowing down or stopping or driving too close to those crossing the roadway.

Pedestrian safety is a huge issue nationally. In 2020, more than 7,000 pedestrians were killed in accidents involving motor vehicles. That’s one death every 75 minutes according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition, an estimated 76,000 other pedestrians were injured. The worst state was California, where 972 pedestrians were killed when hit by vehicles.

“Look, we’re not trying to trick anyone,” Biehler said of his officers who are watching the intersections. “We always post on our website where we’re going to be out patrolling before we go. We just hope that through this program, it makes motorists more mindful of pedestrians and their safety. That’s our job.” λ