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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels September 30, 2004 Visible police still snare drivers By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings As Scott Schuster crossed the busy intersection of Siskiyou Boulevard at Bridge Street Wednesday afternoon, a car whizzed by in the crosswalk about five feet from him. Officer Scott Schuster takes on traffic Wednesday in a Siskiyou Boulevard crosswalk heavily used by Southern Oregon University students. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings "She just looked at me the whole time and just continued," he said. "She saw me, but just didn't care." It was the wrong time not to care. Schuster is an Ashland police officer who spent Wednesday afternoon working on a pedestrian safety operation in front of the busy intersection next to Southern Oregon University. Twenty-seven vehicles were pulled over or cited, with nine drivers given citations, according to Patrol Officer Tom Cook. For four hours, Schuster crossed the street as a "decoy pedestrian." Awareness was the key, not tickets, police said. Signs warning people of the safety operation were posted near the location all day Tuesday, Wednesday morning, and throughout the operation. Police officials and volunteers, either with video equipment, or writing down each violation, were out in the public eye near the crosswalk. When someone did not stop properly, officers stationed a few blocks away pulled them over. While Schuster was the decoy, many cars were pulled over for not stopping for regular pedestrians as well, Cook said. Schuster crossed the street when the vehicles passed a orange cone placed 194 feet away from the crosswalk. One driver expressed appreciation for police officials making people aware of their presence. "Thanks for not hiding behind a tree," he shouted to Lt. Rich Walsh. "We want to make people aware of the law and get people aware of pedestrians who are crossing the street," Walsh said. "We have people crossing here in-and-out almost daily and people need to be mindful of that." The police department received a grant from the Bicycle Transposition Alliance to start the pedestrians safety operations. Cook said the next operation will probably occur in April. "Doing things like this makes (drivers) focus on it (pedestrian safety)," he said. "Awareness helps reduce traffic accidents." Cook said citations were down from the last two stings. In April, they had 19 stops and 11 citations on Normal Avenue. Last June, at the same location as Wednesday's operation, 25 stops brought 24 citations. That people don't stop, even with all the warnings, and with officers visibly out, is surprising to Walsh. "I'm amazed that even though we're clearly out here, people still commit violations," he said. He said a key reason for vehicles failing to stop for pedestrians is drivers being distracted. On Wednesday, he observed a woman stop suddenly for a pedestrian and noticed she was on her cell phone. "There's so many distractions out there that many people don't focus on the road," he said. Walsh said even if a motorist has the legal right of way "the law can't repair broken bones or severe head injuries." Seventy-five percent of most vehicle/pedestrian crashes are the failures of the drivers to stop for a pedestrian, the APD said. Half of the people are hit while they are in the crosswalk. The APD said a pedestrian hit at 20 mph will suffer serious injuries and has a 15 percent chance of dying, At 40 mph, the pedestrian's chances of dying increases to 85 percent. The last fatal vehicle versus pedestrian accident in Ashland city limits occurred in December of 2001, when Joan Bournstein, 73, was struck by a vehicle while in a crosswalk on First and East Main streets. More recently, Ashland High School graduate Ryan Rackley was arrested for his alleged role as the driver of a fatal hit-and-run collision that claimed the life of Anthony Waldron on South Valley View Road just outside of the city limits. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams