---

Drivers, be forewarned. The next pedestrian you pass in a crosswalk in Allenhurst could be an undercover policeman — and failure to stop could cost you.

The Allenhurst Police Department has set up a “pedestrian decoy” program designed to target motorists who do not give pedestrians the right of way at designated crosswalks.

They have run the program in full daylight three times, each time at a different crosswalk in the borough, and have plans to continue to run the program throughout the summer.

About 30 summonses have already been issued, a “conservative estimate,” according to Captain Michael Schneider.

The summons carries a $200 fine and two points, since it is considered a moving violation.

The decoy program in Allenhurst is meant to help keep pedestrians safe during the busy summer months, Schnedier said. A change in state law three years ago requires drivers to “stop” for pedestrians in crosswalks, rather than “yield” to them. 

For Schneider, the change of language is admittedly an exercise in “semantics,” but it doesn’t change the fact that “pedestrians have the right of way as soon as they step into the crosswalk, provided the vehicle is given enough warning,” he said.

Schneider and a few other Allenhurst police officers took the pedestrian decoy class offered by the state a few months ago in Freehold. The class teaches members of police how they can properly — and legally — run a pedestrian decoy stop in their municipalities.

Parameters of what it takes to run the stop legally are mostly defined by the speed limit in the area of the stop. For example, along the program’s guidelines, fair warning for a car traveling in a 25 mph zone is 102 feet, according to Schneider.

“If they are traveling 25 mph, at 102 feet [from the crosswalk] they have plenty of time to stop if a person steps into the crosswalk,” he said.

It takes two police officers to run the program. One acts as the pedestrian while another waits in a patrol car a few hundred feet down the road.

For a visual cue, the police put a shirt or other indicator on the ground at the spot that marked at least 102 feet from the crosswalk. Before a car crosses the marker, a police officer in plain clothes steps out into the crosswalk. If the driver of the car fails to stop, a quick call on the radio from the plain-clothed officer alerts the officer in the patrol car of the violation. That officer then pulls the offender over and issue them a summons for “failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.”

The last time Allenhurst police ran the pedestrian decoy program on July 27, they decided to use an officer in full uniform. Seven summonses were issued within one hour, Schneider said.

“In two of the instances, the police officer put on a reflective vest and people still didn’t stop,” he said. “We’ve actually put marked patrol cars at intersections and people still don’t stop. Whether the officer dresses in shorts and a T-shirt or a full uniform, and even with all the signage we put up, people are still flying by the women and children that are trying to cross the street.”

The number one reason given by motorists who fail to stop is that “they didn’t see anybody,” he said.

For motorists that stop but proceed once the pedestrian is free of their lane of traffic, the officers will pull them over to educate them without issuing a summons.

“They have to wait until the pedestrian is at a point of safety [before they can proceed again],” Schneider said.

Although the program may seem like trickery to some, Schneider says that is not the point.

“We’re not playing gotcha,” he said. “We would much rather put [knowledge of the program] out there than see a pedestrian get struck.”

So far this summer, no pedestrians have been hit by motorists in the borough of Allenhurst, but there have been a few “close calls,” according to Schneider. 

“It still amazes me to this day,” he said. “I think we’ve been very lucky, because it’s only a matter of time.”

————————————————————

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook and Twitter.

---