Police conduct decoy program over back-to-back weekends
A total of 11 summonses were issued during the detail
Allenhurst police added ten more drivers to their list of those netted in the borough’s pedestrian decoy program.
Police issued 11 summonses over the three-and-a-half hour period the program was run at an intersection on Ocean Avenue over the weekend, according to Allenhurst police Capt. Mike Schneider.
The tally included six summonses issued for failure to yield to pedestrians, Schnieder said.
Since it is a moving violation, the summons carries a fine of $200 and two motor vehicles points.
The other five summonses oncluded two for failure to wear a seat belt, one for an equipment violation, one for failure to have a vehicle inspected and one to a driver who operated a vehicle while talking on a cellphone, he said.
The program is intended to increase drivers’ awareness of pedestrians at crosswalks, especially over the busy summer months when activity increases along the oceanfront.
“As was the case in past details, this is primarily an enforcement detail, but officers are also viewing it as an education detail, alerting motorists of the importance of this statute,” Schneider said. “With the increased amount of pedestrians, especially on Ocean Avenue, during the summer months, the police department will continue to be vigilant for any violation that puts a pedestrian, bicyclist, or jogger in jeopardy.”
It takes two police officers to run the program. One acts as a plain-clothed pedestrian while another waits in a patrol car a few hundred feet down the road.
The plain clothed officer steps out onto the street to cross while an approaching car is at least 102 feet away, a distance based on a Rutgers University study that was used as part of the initial course training last summer, Schneider previously told the Sun. If a driver fails to yield, the plain-clothed officer radios the awaiting officer with a description of the vehicle.
Allenhurst police have also run the program with police in full uniform and even sporting a reflective vest at times.
Their effort is being well-received by the public, he said.
“We have had significant positive comments from the pedestrians in the immediate area, who stress they want us to continue this program,” said Schneider.
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