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@MCSOInTheKnow
***Update, 6/11/21 – Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operation Results***
On Friday, June 4th, 2021, our Traffic Safety Team conducted a pedestrian safety enforcement operation on Ward Drive NE at Harlan Drive NE at a marked crosswalk. This location was chosen due to the high volume of traffic and pedestrians that travel through the area on a daily basis. The day before the operation, the Sheriff’s Office posted signs in the area warning drivers about the operation planned for the following day and information was shared across our social media platforms.
During the 2 ½ hour event, 25 drivers were stopped for a variety of traffic violations with 11 warnings and 19 citations issued:
- Failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk – 4 warnings, 8 citations
- Unlawful use of a mobile electronic device – 1 warning, 3 citations
- Failure to use seatbelts – 1 warning, 3 citations
- Speeding – 2 warnings, 3 citations
- Other violations encountered included no valid operator’s license, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, failure to obey a traffic control device, and illegal display of license plates.
As drivers were contacted during the event they were given educational materials in English and Spanish to help increase awareness about pedestrian safety. To learn more about how you can help reduce pedestrian fatalities in Oregon, please visit OregonImpact.org.
***Original media release from 6/2/21***
On Friday, June 4th, 2021, our Traffic Safety Team will be conducting a pedestrian safety enforcement operation in the Hayesville – Jan Ree neighborhood from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The four hour pedestrian safety enforcement operation will focus on motorists who fail to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.
In 2018, the State of Oregon had 79 pedestrian fatalities, six of those occurred in Marion County. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is committed to preventing these tragic deaths by embracing the three E’s of traffic safety: Education, Enforcement, and Engineering. The Sheriff’s Office is conducting this public awareness and enforcement program to help educate drivers and encourage members of the community to develop and maintain safe practices while driving, walking, and cycling in Marion County.
During the four hour operation, deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting enforcement at marked crosswalks which are heavily traveled. Deputies dressed in plain clothes will cross the street while uniformed deputies monitor the crosswalk for motorists who fail to yield the right-of-way, or who are engaged in unsafe driving behaviors. Drivers stopped during this pedestrian safety enforcement operation will be issued written warnings or citations.
At the center of this pedestrian safety enforcement operation is community education. On Thursday, the day before the operation, deputies will be putting signs out near the intersections of Ward Drive NE and Harlen Drive NE as well as on Hayesville Drive NE at 49th Avenue NE where the focus of the operation is planned to occur to help raise driver awareness about the pedestrian safety campaign scheduled for Friday, June 4th.
To learn more about how you can help reduce pedestrian fatalities in Oregon, please visit OregonImpact.org.