Police to Put More Emphasis on Pedestrian Safety

Police in Oakland will today begin cracking down on dangerous drivers and jaywalking pedestrians as part of a PennDOT pedestrian safety enforcement campaign. Officers from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Pittsburgh will be handing out written warnings to pedestrians caught crossing mid-block or against crossing signals, and drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks will receive citations with fines around $250. PennDOT safety spokesperson David Pritt says both drivers and pedestrians need to pay more attention to make the streets safer. In 2007, there were 139 crashes involving vehicles and pedestrians in PennDOT District 11--which contains Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence Counties--resulting in 10 fatalities.