Pedestrian decoy program will continue next summer
17 total summonses issued to motorists during program's first year
The “pedestrian decoy” detail netted four more motorists in August, and Allenhurst Police have plans to continue the program next summer, according to Captain Michael Schneider.
“I can tell you for sure that Allenhurst will be doing this detail a lot more often next summer,” Schneider said.
The decoy program is designed to target motorists who do not give pedestrians the right of way at designated crosswalks, especially during the busy summer months.
A total of 17 summonses were issued to motorists between June and August, Schneider said. The summons carries a $200 fine and two points, since it is considered a moving violation.
“I am also looking to put out a much more comprehensive advertising blitz about this program for next summer, so we don’t hear people say ‘I knew nothing about this’,” he said.
In addition to Allenhurst Police advertising the program, the state may create banners to market the program to motorists, said Schneider. The banners would be similar to the “Click it or Ticket” drunk driving crackdown campaign.
To take part in the program, Schneider and another Allenhurst officer took a one day course by the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety on setting up the pedestrian decoys. Police departments throughout the state were represented.
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.
“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 previously told the Sun.
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