Traffic Enforcement

As a regular pedestrian and bicyclist in town, I know how dangerous certain streets and intersections are.  The BPD just issued this recap of yesterday's saturation enforcement effort.

Traffic officers focused their efforts in trouble spots in the two areas and conducted saturated traffic enforcement and education to crackdown on drivers and pedestrians who violate traffic laws meant to protect all roadway users.  Deputies and Officers focused on safety violations such as speeding, making illegal turns, failing to stop for signs and signals, failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and other dangerous violations.

Deputies and Officers made 122 stops and issued 113 citations. Of the 113 citations issued:

34 citations were issued for failing to obey a traffic device or sign
19 citations were issued for speed violations
9 citations were issued for cell phone violations
9 citations were issued for stop sign violations
7 citations were issued for red light violations
6 citations were issued for seat belt violations
5 citations were issued for failure to activate headlights in the rain
5 citations were issued for pedestrian right of way violations
1 driver was cited for consuming a beer while driving a motor vehicle

3 drivers cited for operating a vehicle while suspended/revoked
1 driver cited for operating a vehicle unlicensed

This is a welcome result in my opinion, especially the cell phone and pedestrian right of way tickets (14 of them).

Comments

[blueocean]

Let's add to this that "share the road" goes both ways. As a driver, I see countless bikes almost hit pedestrians, pedestrians not even looking up when crossing a street, jaywalking without looking or while too busy texting on their phones. I also get bumped repeatedly walking on the sidewalk while the folks coming at me are too busy texting and walking. And then there are the bikes on the sidewalks plowing thru the crowds. I witness a poor older lady with a walker almost get knocked down by a bike who was speeding by...

[Joe]

That is a very fair comment. Thank you.

[Basic values were not taught at home by parents...]

Blue, its the ultra self centered California culture that never learned to be courteous and respectful of others. And, quite the opposite of courteous and respectful of others, they learned to backstab others if they have a different perspective. Hmm, I wonder which organizations push that concept hard? Alinsky would be proud.

[Jennifer]

This is a great report to see, thanks Joe. I had no idea it was going on, and wish BPD would have the resources to do this more often.

[Break the stranglehold]

Jennifer, you're right, we should celebrate the victories of the local police departments.

And, I'm 100% in support of the good guy police officers.

Unfortunately, however, and individual police officers would agree with this, there are paid-off police officers as well.

And, this needs to be better known and stamped out not by 1 person's call out, but by the entire weight of every good person who cares.

[Joe]

Wednesday was another big day on the stepped up enforcement with reinforcements from other cities. Per the BPD notice:

Officers made 222 traffic enforcement stops and issued 200 citations. Of the 200 citations issued,

52 were for speed violations
27 were for stop sign violations
25 were for failing to obey a traffic control device violations
22 were for cell telephone violations
19 were for seatbelt violations
11 were for texting violations

One driver was arrested/cited for possession of a controlled substance. A juvenile was cited and released to an adult relative for reckless driving.

Additionally, one driver was found to be driving on a suspended license and three drivers were cited for being unlicensed.

[Jennifer]

On a related item, this appeared in several newspapers last week:
Pedestrian Deaths Surged in California in 2015-

Pedestrian deaths surged by an estimated 10 percent last year as the economy improved, the price of gas plunged and motorists put more miles behind the wheel than ever before, according to an analysis of preliminary state traffic fatality data, with California accounting for more fatalities than any other state.

The growing use of cellphones distracting drivers and walkers may also be partially to blame, states a report released by the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents governors' highway safety offices. Warmer weather and shorter winters along with a greater awareness of health benefits may also be encouraging people to walk more.

In California alone, 347 people were killed in the first half of the year, 24 more than during the same period of 2014 (a 7% increase). Florida had the second most fatalities at 273. On a per-capita basis, California, the most populous state in the union, actually ranked eleventh for fatalities at .89 per 100,000 residents.

"This is really sobering news," said Richard Retting, co-author of the report. "Pedestrian safety is clearly a growing problem across the country."

The data analyzed were from the first half of 2015. If the trend holds true for the full year, it would be the largest year-to-year increase in pedestrian deaths since 1975 when the current federal system for recording traffic deaths was created.

The report is based on state traffic fatality figures, extrapolated for the full year by researchers at Sam Schwartz Consulting, which specializes in transportation matters.

Overall, there were 2,368 pedestrians killed in the first six months of 2015, compared to 2,232 during the same period in 2014 — a six percent increase. Researchers arrived at a 10 percent increase for the entire year by factoring in that fatalities for the first half of the year are typically underreported, and that for at least the last five years an average of 25 percent more pedestrian deaths were recorded in the second half of the year, which includes warmer summer months, Retting said.

Total traffic deaths, which had been trending downward for the past decade, were also up an estimated 8 percent last year. But pedestrian fatalities have been rising since 2005, and now account for 15 percent of total traffic deaths. The last time pedestrian deaths accounted for that large a share of traffic deaths was 25 years ago.

Nearly three-quarters of pedestrian deaths occur after dark, and a third of those killed had been drinking alcohol, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. By comparison, about 15 percent of motorists involved in those crashes had a blood alcohol content at the legal limit or higher.

Four large population states — California, Florida, Texas and New York — accounted for 42 percent of the pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2015. States with the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents were scattered across the country — Florida, 1.35; Arizona, 1.27; Delaware, 1.27; South Carolina, 1.12; Mississippi, 1.07; Oregon, 1.04, and New Mexico, 1.01. The District of Columbia also tied Oregon for the sixth highest rate, 1.04.

In a related issue, the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents city bus drivers, estimates that roughly one pedestrian is killed every 10 days by a city bus because of blind spots in poorly designed buses. Wide "A pillars," which connect the windshield to the driver's side window, and poorly placed side mirrors frequently obstruct drivers' view of intersections, according to the union.

"Until the industry demands a change in the design of buses to remove the unnecessary blind spots like European buses, people will continue to die in these preventable accidents," said Larry Hanley, the union's president.

[Russ]

People behaving badly in Burlingame.

http://kron4.com/2016/03/16/people-behaving-badly-another-peninsula-crackdown-this-time-in-burlingame/

[Samiselfie]

Jennifer, thanks but in future how about just providing the link.

[Joe]

I'm guessing that most Voice readers are also seeing BPD announcements from other sources (and that they Always, Always use their seat belts), but just in case:

On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, twenty officers from various law enforcement agencies throughout San Mateo County will be participating in the San Mateo County Saturation Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.). The STEP program is a collaborative effort to increase traffic safety and awareness in known trouble spots throughout San Mateo County. May is designated “Click It Or Ticket” seatbelt safety month. Tomorrow’s deployment will focus on seatbelt violations and occur in Burlingame and Belmont from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

[Joe]

Here are yesterday's results for the 8 hour step-up in enforcement in B'game and Belmont"

Officers made 186 traffic enforcement stops and issued 171 citations. Of the 171 citations issued,

22 citations were for seatbelt violations
37 citations were for cell phone violations
30 citations were for failing to obey a traffic sign or signal violations
22 citations were for stop sign violations
15 citations were for speed violations
11 citations were for improper turning movements
6 citations were for red light violations
4 citations were for text violations

Additionally, one driver was found to be driving on a suspended license and four drivers were cited for being unlicensed.