"Crosswalk Crackdown" Begins
Drivers required to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
Thursday, Jul 30, 2009 | Updated 12:48 PM CST
Nancy Yanagidate
Undercover police officers pose as pedestrians trying to cross the street at a crosswalk. Vehicles are required by law to yield.
Chicago's "crosswalk crackdown" is in full effect.
At the interesection of Nagle and Peterson on Thursday, 18 drivers were issued tickets after they failed to yield for pedestrians.
Undercover police officers posed as pedestrians trying to cross the street at a crosswalk in what police said is one of 50 that are planned for this year.
Chicago's Department of Transportation Web site lays out the official ordinances.
Pedestrians should note that they shall not "leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield."
Conversely, you drivers "shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be so to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger."
Basically, that means drivers on the same side of the street are supposed to stop as soon as a person steps into a crosswalk. Drivers on the opposite side are supposed to stop when the pedestrian gets to the center of the street.
Last year, 240 drivers were ticketed for blowing through crosswalks while pedestrians waited.
Of course, we welcome your thoughts on this. Leave them in the comments.
Posted Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 2:26 PM CST
