(WWJ) Police in four Michigan cities will be out looking for drivers who make it unsafe for pedestrians, and pedestrians who break the law.
For one week -- beginning on Thursday, Sept. 5 -- police in Detroit, Warren, Lansing, and Kalamazoo will be on the lookout for drivers making illegal turns, failing to stop at a signal or stop sign before a crosswalk, failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk at a signalized intersection or blocking a roadway that interferes with the normal flow of traffic.
Officers will also be looking for violations by pedestrians, including not following traffic control signals, not walking on a sidewalk where provided, not walking facing traffic when on a roadway and failing to yield to drivers with the right-of-way.
Michigan State Police say 100 pedestrians die each year in Michigan; and, according to the Office of Highway Safety Planning, the four cities chosen from this crackdown have the highest number of pedestrian crashes in recent years. Between 2013-2017, Detroit had a total of 2,330; Kalamazoo had a total of 264; Warren had a total of 193, and Lansing had a total of 261.
[State Police: 693 Drivers Stopped, 404 Ticketed For Speeding In Crackdown]
"This enforcement period aims to educate community members about the importance of pedestrian safety and the traffic laws designed to protect them," said OHSP director Michael Prince. "We want everyone, people who drive and people who walk, to obey traffic signs and signals and stay alert for each other. Organizations are working hard to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries in Michigan, but there is still more we can do."
Participating law enforcement agencies will include: Detroit Police, Warren Police, Macomb County Sheriff, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Kalamazoo County Sheriff, Kalamazoo Township Police, Western Michigan University Public Safety, Lansing Police and Lansing Community College Police.
Officials say the month of September is an especially deadly time of year for pedestrians, with one of the highest volume of crashes – more than 1,000 in the last five years.
The enforcement campaign will be paid for with federal traffic safety funds.
