A Crosswalk Sting or "pedestrian decoy operation" is an enforcement and public education action in which plainclothes police officers cross at mark or unmarked crosswalks, and drivers who fail to yield to them are given warnings or tickets.  An important aspect of the action is notifying the media ahead of time to ensure good coverage of the crosswalk sting, providing broader community awareness.  Crosswalk stings have been found to significantly increase yielding by drivers. 

Details of a Crosswalk Sting

To increase the effectiveness, safety, and legal defensibililty of a crosswalk sting, it must be carefully planned ahead of time (modified from [1]).  Officers first establish the safe stopping distance to a crosswalk, assuming at least a 10 mi/h speed margin over the posted speed limit. Cones are set out in that location. An officer in plain clothes steps into the crosswalk just before a vehicle passes the cone. This gives the motorist time to yield to the pedestrian. If the motorist fails to yield, either a warning or a citation is given, based on the severity of the incident. The most effective campaigns have been accompanied by an extensive media blitz ahead of time; all the interactions are recorded on video so that, if motorists dispute a ticket, their behavior can be viewed by the courts. This usually leads to a guilty plea. Crosswalk stings have been conducted across the country (from Washington, Oregon, and Nevada to Wisconsin and Florida) and have proven to be very popular, as pedestrians are happy to see enforcement oriented at motorists, who often act aggressively towards pedestrians.

Some basic steps for conducting crosswalk stings include:

1. With the public input and assistance of the local traffic engineer, planner, or pedestrian safety coordinator, identify high risk locations for pedestrians.
2. Observe to see the types of violations that are occurring.
3. Calculate a reasonable amount of time for a driver to see and react to the pedestrian; mark that distance back from the crossing with a cone or sign. Some agencies recommend using the "slide to stop" formula using a speed 10 mph over the posted limit.
4. The pedestrian is a police officer in high visibility civilian clothes. He or she does not step into the street if the car has passed the "cone."
5. Other officers observe the crossing attempts from concealment and pursue and apprehend violators. Where concealed observation is not possible, a radio in the decoy's hand works well.

Do Crosswalk Stings Increase Yielding by Motorists?

Extensive anecdotal reports suggest police and residents find that crosswalk stings increase yielding by motorists to pedestrians in crosswalks.  Very few controlled studies have been performed.  A 2004 study of a sting operation in Miami, Florida, found that crosswalk stings did in fact increase yielding[2].  Further, the researchers found,

these increases were sustained for a period of a year with minimal additional enforcement, and that the effect generalized to untreated crosswalks...as well as crosswalks with traffic signals.

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

• STREETFILMS: Portland OR Crosswalk Enforcement Actions

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REFERENCES

Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] Pedestrian Bicycle Information Center, WalkingInfo.org website, Enforcement Approaches Page.

[2] Van Houten, R., and Malenfant, J.E.L. 2004. The effects of a behavioral enforcement program on yielding behavior in the City of Miami Beach: Assessment of generalization and maintenance. In TRB 2004 Annual Meeting. CD-ROM.  Transportation Research Baord, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 

[3]

[4]

 

PICTURE REFERENCES

Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] Crosswalk intrusion. Photo by Dan Burden via Pedestrian Bicycle Information Center Image Library, .

[2]

 

FURTHER READING

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