The Lakewood Police Department last week released videos from the first of multiple enforcement campaigns of the “Pedestrian in the Crosswalk” law.
Let me first preface by saying that I don’t particularly have an issue with the police who are enforcing it – it’s the law and their job is to enforce it. However, it’s also a law that is completely and utterly unfair to drivers and does nothing to make pedestrians safer.
A single watch of the videos they released will show you. Take a look at the one provided below. You see an SUV driving south on Clifton near 3rd Street. As the SUV nears the intersection, a plainclothes officer walks straight into the crosswalk. The SUV passes through the intersection and is promptly pulled over by another police officer.
Did the driver do anything wrong? By the law, sure. But the responsibility for such a violation should be on the pedestrian, not the driver! If you’re a pedestrian, you can’t just be walking into the street and expect drivers to be on the lookout for you!
It’s difficult enough to drive in Lakewood as it is. There are cars darting out all over the place, all the time. Now drivers have to also be worried about pedestrians in their peripheral vision jumping into the street? How and why is that the driver’s problem?
If you want to know why there are so many pedestrians being struck in Lakewood, you can point a finger at this law, which puts all the responsibility and need for plain, common sense on drivers and none on pedestrians.
The New Jersey State Police recently said that they will no longer enforce certain minor traffic violations, saying that it will somehow reduce racial disparities between white and black drivers. If the NJSP won’t enforce actual offenses for such a stupid reason, I think the Lakewood PD shouldn’t enforce Pedestrian in the Crosswalk violations, either.
It’s stupid, it’s ridiculous, it’s unhelpful, and it has to be done away with.
Signed,
Y.F.
The views expressed in this letter do not necessarily represent those of Lakewood Alerts. Have an opinion you would like to see published? Send it to us for review at Info@LakewoodAlerts.com
Agree 1000%
Another point to mention is, when’s the last time you saw a police car stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk? Cops can’t have a double standard
I wholeheartedly disagree.
The responsibility for this particular violation should not be on the pedestrian.
The pedestrian did not “just walk into the street.”
This is a marked crosswalk. Drivers have full responsibility to “be on the lookout for” pedestrians who are crossing.
“ The New Jersey State Police recently said that they will no longer enforce certain minor traffic violations, saying that it will somehow reduce racial disparities between white and black drivers.”
Only for minorities, if your white you still getting a ticket.
I’m really trying hard not to laugh while reading this. The officer was in the crosswalk well before the suv got there. The driver just didn’t care. Like a bunch of lkwd drivers. Lkwd driving is dangerous, agreed. But let’s not take issue with the police for trying to do the impossible and make lkwd driving safe again
Yup!
While i agree with you in an area with no crosswalk, This crosswalk is very clearly marked and has signs on the road saying stop for pedestrians. As you can clearly see here the driver should have stopped not only because of the crosswalk and the stop for pedestrians sign but also because the plainclothes police officer seemed to have full intention of crossing the street and only stopped at the last second, but if he didn’t stop, it seems that the driver would have come awfully close to hitting him.
Why don’t the police focus on giving parking tickets which they never do? That’s the type of tickets that are important, especially when it comes to people parking so close to corners that you can’t see around them
It’s called revenue. Someone is making bank. Who?
Oh shut up! Pedestrians should be the ones looking out?really?!?! The law is as such for a reason. Try crossing a busy street without running like with a stroller or an older person, you can wait over 15 minutes and still not have an opportunity to cross freely. The pedestrian should not cross aimlessly and cause a car to short stop but 100% they have the right of way!
I have the same problem here!
I was once waiting by a crosswalk and I saw a cop drive by me and I said hey isn’t it the law that they have to stop.
Cops are hypocrite’s
no no no.
The driver was clearly wrong and did something very dangerous. Good for the cops for snagging him. This is a good law.