Spokane Police to do Pedestrian Emphasis Patrol
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Pedestrian Emphasis near Gonzaga on Thursday |
| The Spokane Police Department’s Traffic Unit has had an increase in the number of complaints of drivers failing to yield in crosswalks. Thursday, September 17th, we will focus our efforts in the Gonzaga area with an emphasis patrol for pedestrian safety. The college district near Hamilton and Sharp will be the focus of the emphasis. Sharp west of Hamilton is a 25 mile per hour zone because of the amount of pedestrians headed to Gonzaga.
Drivers are reminded that not all crosswalks are marked. In fact, most crosswalks in the city are not. The law states a driver of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian or bicycle to cross the roadway within an unmarked or marked crosswalk when the pedestrian or bicycle is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For purposes of this law, “half of the roadway” means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel, and includes the entire width of a one-way roadway. Last year, in Spokane City there were127 crashes reported involving pedestrians, with 101 injuries, making this issue a priority for the Traffic Unit. Below is a chart that shows how just a slight increase in speed can have devastating consequences. Pedestrian fatality risk at various striking vehicle speeds: Vehicle Speed Fatality Risk
14 mph 5% 21 10 25 25 28 58 30 75 35 99
To report areas with repeated violations call the Traffic Hotline (509) 625-4150. |