Chief
03-23-2007, 08:57 AM
http://columbian.com/news/localNews/03222007news118160.cfm
Thursday, March 22, 2007
By JOHN BRANTON Columbian staff writer
Crosswalk sting operation: - 42 tickets issued - 30 warnings - $101 fine for failure to yield - 1 pedestrian ticketed for jaywalking
If you saw someone wearing a bright-yellow jacket in a marked crosswalk Wednesday, you were looking at a very brave man.
It was Vancouver police Officer Ron Rose, posing in plainclothes as John Q. Pedestrian.
In a daylong traffic safety sting operation, Rose ventured warily into crosswalks to see if motorists would stop for him.
Motorists who didn't stop -- there were plenty -- soon saw red and blue flashing lights in their rear-view mirrors as uniformed officers on motorcycles pulled them over.
The motor officers ended up writing 42 tickets, most for failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian.
And Rose, despite his risky role, managed to avoid being hit, much like a bullfighter sidestepping el toro.
By entering crosswalks only when oncoming drivers were at least a block away, so they had time to see him, Rose had only a couple of close calls. The yellow fleece jacket helped, too, he said.
"I wear this because I am very visible," said Rose, a veteran of several crosswalk stings. "The guys kid me about it, but I wear it."
He added, "I know enough to watch very carefully."
The stings began Wednesday morning at Mill Plain Boulevard and Broadway, where pedestrians have complained of being endangered by unsafe drivers.
Later Wednesday, officers set up at two more locations on Mill Plain, four on Fourth Plain Boulevard and one on Washington Street.
Shortly before 3 p.m., as the operation was drawing to a close, Rose and his fellow Traffic Unit officers were on duty on Mill Plain at D Street, near Burgerville. It's a one-way section of Mill Plain with three lanes of traffic heading east from downtown toward nearby Interstate 5.
At one point, when Rose made it more than halfway across the crosswalk, a woman in a gray car drove past him in the right lane. Quick as a wink, a motorcycle officer pulled her over.
"I was almost to her lane and she still sped past me," Rose said. "I don't even think she saw me."
The woman ended up with a $101 ticket for failure to yield the right of way.
On a one-way street, Rose said, motorists in all lanes are required by law to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
On two-way streets, drivers must give pedestrians one extra lane as a safety zone.
"If they (pedestrians) are in your lane, or either lane to the right or left of you, you have to stop," Rose said.
In such crosswalk stings, Rose has a hidden radio so he can communicate with other officers. As many as six motorcycles at a time were used in Wednesday's operation.
Besides about 20 tickets written for failing to yield to a pedestrian, officers also wrote about a dozen for seat belt violations and issued 30 warnings.
In addition, officers dealt with three motorists whose driver's licenses were suspended, and ticketed a pedestrian for jaywalking.
A couple of motorists who were pulled over complained that the stings constitute entrapment. Rose said he's unsure what a judge would say about that, but he said drivers should be able to see him in crosswalks and stop.
"I don't do anything that would catch them off guard."
John Branton covers crime and law enforcement for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-759-8012 or john.branton@columbian.com.
**SCHNIPP**
The nuimber of tickets they wrote at that one site illustrates nicely just how bad the problem is here in Vancouver.
And disregarding pedestrians in crosswalks is the tip of the iceberg. They need to come up here in Cascade Park and do some Stopsign enforcement...
And it wouldn't bother me one bit if those fines were doubled. At least...
Stout Hearts...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
By JOHN BRANTON Columbian staff writer
Crosswalk sting operation: - 42 tickets issued - 30 warnings - $101 fine for failure to yield - 1 pedestrian ticketed for jaywalking
If you saw someone wearing a bright-yellow jacket in a marked crosswalk Wednesday, you were looking at a very brave man.
It was Vancouver police Officer Ron Rose, posing in plainclothes as John Q. Pedestrian.
In a daylong traffic safety sting operation, Rose ventured warily into crosswalks to see if motorists would stop for him.
Motorists who didn't stop -- there were plenty -- soon saw red and blue flashing lights in their rear-view mirrors as uniformed officers on motorcycles pulled them over.
The motor officers ended up writing 42 tickets, most for failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian.
And Rose, despite his risky role, managed to avoid being hit, much like a bullfighter sidestepping el toro.
By entering crosswalks only when oncoming drivers were at least a block away, so they had time to see him, Rose had only a couple of close calls. The yellow fleece jacket helped, too, he said.
"I wear this because I am very visible," said Rose, a veteran of several crosswalk stings. "The guys kid me about it, but I wear it."
He added, "I know enough to watch very carefully."
The stings began Wednesday morning at Mill Plain Boulevard and Broadway, where pedestrians have complained of being endangered by unsafe drivers.
Later Wednesday, officers set up at two more locations on Mill Plain, four on Fourth Plain Boulevard and one on Washington Street.
Shortly before 3 p.m., as the operation was drawing to a close, Rose and his fellow Traffic Unit officers were on duty on Mill Plain at D Street, near Burgerville. It's a one-way section of Mill Plain with three lanes of traffic heading east from downtown toward nearby Interstate 5.
At one point, when Rose made it more than halfway across the crosswalk, a woman in a gray car drove past him in the right lane. Quick as a wink, a motorcycle officer pulled her over.
"I was almost to her lane and she still sped past me," Rose said. "I don't even think she saw me."
The woman ended up with a $101 ticket for failure to yield the right of way.
On a one-way street, Rose said, motorists in all lanes are required by law to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
On two-way streets, drivers must give pedestrians one extra lane as a safety zone.
"If they (pedestrians) are in your lane, or either lane to the right or left of you, you have to stop," Rose said.
In such crosswalk stings, Rose has a hidden radio so he can communicate with other officers. As many as six motorcycles at a time were used in Wednesday's operation.
Besides about 20 tickets written for failing to yield to a pedestrian, officers also wrote about a dozen for seat belt violations and issued 30 warnings.
In addition, officers dealt with three motorists whose driver's licenses were suspended, and ticketed a pedestrian for jaywalking.
A couple of motorists who were pulled over complained that the stings constitute entrapment. Rose said he's unsure what a judge would say about that, but he said drivers should be able to see him in crosswalks and stop.
"I don't do anything that would catch them off guard."
John Branton covers crime and law enforcement for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-759-8012 or john.branton@columbian.com.
**SCHNIPP**
The nuimber of tickets they wrote at that one site illustrates nicely just how bad the problem is here in Vancouver.
And disregarding pedestrians in crosswalks is the tip of the iceberg. They need to come up here in Cascade Park and do some Stopsign enforcement...
And it wouldn't bother me one bit if those fines were doubled. At least...
Stout Hearts...