Thursday, July 17, 2008

Pedestrians in Chicago

You know, we wondered why so few drivers ever even glanced at Chicago pedestrians ... meaning us last week when we were attempting to use crosswalks ... much less slowed down for them OR stopped. A timely story shows it isn't the lack of laws but the same old story ... "Aha," we said when spotting this in our paper this morning (though just try to find it on the DMN website ... so here is the link to the AP story at Yahoo):
CHICAGO - So why did officer Grace Delgado try to cross the road? To remind motorists that they must stop whenever someone steps off the curb into a crosswalk.

In an unusual undercover operation, Delgado posed as a pedestrian on a busy street while fellow officers waited for drivers to barrel past her in violation of a law that requires them yield at crosswalks, even if there is no stop sign.

Chicago this year joined a growing number of big cities and small towns that are sending officers into traffic to make motorists pay more attention to pedestrians.

"People, they don't care," said Delgado, whose bright pink baseball hat and orange blouse made her especially tough to miss. "It's 'Get out of my way.' The whole mentality is 'Get out of my way.'"...

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