If you drive a car in the City of Chicago, you had better yield to those crossing the street, on foot, within marked crosswalks across the city. Not doing so could result in a large fine, or a moving violation placed on your driving record!
This week, Chicago Police began a new Crosswalk Enforcement Program on the Northwest Side of Chicago. It will expand to other Chicago Neighborhoods within the next few weeks.
As reported by Jon Hilkevitch in his "Getting Around" Column last Monday in the Chicago Tribune, the plan includes plain-clothes police officers posing as pedestrians at busy intersections not marked by stoplights or stop signs. The officers would signal ahead to other uniformed officers down the block, who would issue tickets - not warnings - to those who blatantly failed to yield to the"pedestrian" officer.
Fines could be as high as $500, according to Kiersten Grove, Pedestrian Program Coordinator at the Chicago Department of Transportation.
At the same time, new legislation is being discussed in the State Capitol of Springfield IL. Legislation pending in the IL State Senate would impose a $150 fine for drivers who fail to actually stop, not simply yield, at marked-crosswalk intersections. That legislation has already passed the IL House.
Currently, eleven states plus DC have "must stop" laws for drivers. Present IL Law requires drivers to slow at crosswalks, and stop only if necessary, to yield to pedestrians.
Each year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates more than 6,000 pedestrian-vehicle collisions happen across IL. An estimated 3,000 occur each year in the City of Chicago. Most occur near school buildings, or public parks.
Chicago Police will conduct crosswalk-enforcement operations within the next few days at 119th Street and Stewart Avenue, 103rd Street and Prairie Avenue, and 86th Street and Commercial Avenue, all on the South Side of Chicago.
On Thursday, a similar Police Sting was held on the Northwest Side of Chicago, at the intersection of Peterson and Nagle Avenues. Offending motorists pulled over were fined between $50 and $500. The number of motorists pulled over, and the severity of their fines or warnings, has not yet been announced by the Chicago Police Department.
See our post today @ BlogChicagoHomes.com.
DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
Dean: It sounds like so many of these accidents could very easily be avoided if people weren't in such a gosh darn hurry. I bet watching a video of some of these sting operations might be kinda fun. If nothing else... getting that video out should help folks realize the Chicago Police mean business. Thanks for sharing...
Whoa, if drivers aren't yielding to pedestrians in a crosswalk, they should indeed be receiving tickets and expensive ones too!
Drivers need to learn to yield. It is ionteresting they know this lesson in Europe. O have even seen dogs walk to a cross walk wait for cars to stop and walk across the street!
I really want to be believe it is about safety....but it is the Daley Admini$tration.