A decoy officer crosses as a uniformed officer monitors the intersection.
Drivers passing through the intersection of Middlefield Road and Pacific Avenue in unincorporated Redwood City were put to the test on Monday.
In an effort to improve pedestrian safety, plainclothes California Highway Patrol officers crossed the street between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. while uniformed officers monitored the crosswalks, ready to issue citations or warnings to any motorist who failed to yield the right-of-way.
“It’s been a busy morning,” said CHP spokesman Christopher Barshini, who was one of about eight officers conducting the pedestrian safety enforcement operation. Three of them served as decoys dressed in brightly colored plain clothes. Barshini said he personally stopped about eight motorists that morning and one of them was about 2 feet from hitting a decoy officer.
Officers were also monitoring car speeds and looking for other illegal behavior, including cellphone or seatbelt violations.
Barshini said some drivers failed to stop for pedestrians because they were on their phone or changing the radio station, and others said they were distracted by their thoughts or just didn’t see the pedestrian as they drove by, apparently missing the signs with flashing lights as well.
“We want to make sure everyone is devoting 100 percent of their attention to the roadway and we hope through citations or warnings next time they’ll pay attention,” he said.
Barshini also said speed is a factor as drivers sometimes won’t stop because they think they’re going too fast to be able to stop in time for pedestrians. The speed limit in that area is 30 mph, and a number of drivers were traveling 5 to 10 mph above the limit.
The operation is meant to educate and encourage the community to maintain safe driving practices. Since January, 2017, Redwood City Area CHP has investigated 20 collisions involving pedestrians, including 16 traffic collisions resulting in injury and four fatal collisions, according to a press release.
Barshini said CHP conducts pedestrian safety operations in each jurisdiction throughout the state at least once a year, targeting heavily traveled intersections with a history of collisions. CHP also selects intersections that already have visible crosswalk striping and signs.
This particular intersection met the above criteria, and nearby residents and business owners were happy to see law enforcement devote extra attention to it, Barshini said.
Last year, CHP did a similar operation at the intersection of Middlefield Road and Second Avenue.
The program is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to the release.
“We’ll continue [the program] as long as there’s funding,” Barshini said.
(650) 344-5200 ex. 102
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(1) comment
Good luck making any permanent change in driver behavior. That would take a continuous, massive effort while the presence of police and CHP on the roads seems to be shrinking.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.