Crosswalk operations Thursday throughout Carson City targets distracted drivers
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 06/09/2016 - 9:40am
Carson City has had many pedestrian involved crashes in recent years, with some of those resulting in tragedy. So far this year, there have been three pedestrian related fatalities in Carson City. In 2014 there was one fatality and in 2015 there was one.
"One is one too many," said Carson City Sheriff' Office Sgt. Scott McDaniel, who heads up the motor patrol unit of the sheriff's office, noting that Carson City has the third highest number of traffic-pedestrian related fatalities in Nevada this year. See the video below.
The motor unit, in cooperation with the Office of Traffic Safety and Joining Forces — a statewide public safety campaign that focuses on traffic, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian safety issues — is conducting crosswalk safety operations Thursday at various intersections around Carson City.
The focus is to bring public awareness to pedestrian and motorist responsibility, said McDaniel while standing at the at the intersection of Fairview and Gordon streets in east Carson City.
A clearly marked pedestrian, sheriff's office employee Don Quilici, is clad in bright orange, and walks across the crosswalks as officers on standby watch to see if motorists will allow him to cross safely. McDaniel said officers are looking for drivers who are distracted, speeding, not paying attention and and talking on cell phones.
There will be another crosswalk operation scheduled for later this month, said McDaniel. While motorists have questioned these operations in the past and why they're held, McDaniel points to the tragedies that have happened on roadways throughout Carson City involving vehicles and pedestrians.
"Our goal is zero. Zero pedestrian accidents and zero fatalities," he said.
