Grant Aims To Keep Pedestrians Safe In New Jersey
By Robin Culverwell
WOODBURY, N.J. (CBS) - Pedestrian injury and fatality in New Jersey occurs at a higher rate than the national average. So a state grant ($30,000) will help officials in Gloucester County study driver behavior at crosswalks to get the word out -- state law requires you to stop for pedestrians.
People on foot account for 25 to 30-percent of New Jersey fatalities in motor vehicle crashes compared with the national average of 10-percent.
So Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton says police in select departments will work before, at, and after pedestrian crosswalks to study driver behavior and stop those who don't yield:
"The goal is to raise awareness about the dangers of driving on our roadways. We have so much distracted driving which occurs on a regular basis."
Dalton says they'll choose the places to study based on pedestrian traffic volume, the number of citations and the number of crashes.
Last year in Gloucester County, eight of 26 traffic collision deaths involved a person on foot.