April 11, 2001

The El Cerrito Police Department, in an effort to educate the driving public and increase pedestrian safety has stepped up enforcement of pedestrian right-of-way violations. On Wednesday April 11th, a decoy officer was deployed as a pedestrian using the crosswalk located on San Pablo Avenue at Madison Avenue between 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM, during which time patrol officers issued approximately 50 citations for failure to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian. The California Vehicle Code requires the driver of a vehicle to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway in any marked crosswalk.

On March 26th a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and killed while crossing San Pablo Avenue in the same crosswalk. Officers noted that many of the drivers who were stopped during Wednesdays enforcement event stated that they did not see the pedestrian, or they were talking to other passengers and not paying attention, some drivers even stated that they thought pedestrians were supposed to yield to cars. Due to the obvious need for greater education and enforcement with regard to pedestrian safety and right-of-way requirements the Police Department will be conducting future similar enforcement actions at various locations in El Cerrito.

Any questions or inquiries should be referred to Commander Scot Mosby, El Cerrito Police Department (510) 215-4426.

Prepared by: Commander Scot Mosby

10900 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, California 94530-2391 510/215-4400 FAX 510/215-8016