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Chapter 3: How can the safety of my neighborhood be improved?

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Enforcement

Pedestrian safety laws

An important first step in enforcement is to find out your state's laws related to pedestrian safety and where they apply (e.g., city, county, or specific roadway).

All states have a Web site where they post their laws pertaining to pedestrians and bicyclists. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) produced a compilation of state pedestrian laws, available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/resourceguide/index.html. You can also contact your state's department of transportation or read your state's Motor Vehicle Code for a list of statewide pedestrian statutes.

There are federal laws that regulate what pedestrian accommodations must be provided and how accommodations are designed. The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that disabled persons have full access to public infrastructure in the United States. This means that newly constructed public streets must have proper curb ramps, sidewalks, driveways, and tactile warning strips at street crossings.

Strategies for local law enforcement

There are a number of strategies that your local law enforcement agency can undertake to enforce laws that will improve pedestrian safety. You should discuss these with law enforcement professionals to see which are feasible in your community:

• Traffic complaint hotline—An agency establishes a central hotline phone number or Web site to receive traffic complaints.
• Pedestrian safety enforcement operations—Also called pedestrian decoys, these are well-prepared and coordinated operations designed to warn motorists that the yield-to-pedestrian laws will be enforced at targeted locations.
• Photo enforcement—In states where automated photo speed enforcement is permissible, it can be used to concentrate speed enforcement in specific areas with high volumes of pedestrian crossings, such as school zones.
• High visibility enforcement—Local agencies can help to improve driver and pedestrian safety by publicizing enforcement efforts and conducting the enforcement where people will see it. Local news outlets often carry stories on these types of efforts. Highly publicized enforcement (of even low-level enforcement) targeted towards a specific behavior is likely to be most effective.
• Progressive ticketing—Progressive ticketing is a method for introducing ticketing through a three-stage process, to first educate, then warn, then ticket offenders. Issuing warnings allows police to contact up to 20 times as many noncompliant motorists or pedestrians than the writing of citations does. In addition, the high frequency of stops ensures not only that many people directly make contact with law enforcement, but also that many others witness these stops and are prompted to obey the rules.
• Double fines in school zones and other special interest areas—Strict enforcement of speed laws in school zones and other special interest districts or areas is one law enforcement tool that can improve safety for pedestrians as well as motorists. A zero tolerance policy for speeders in these zones and an increase in fines for drivers who violate the posted speed limit are potential approaches.

Strategies for community members

You and other community members can also help improve driver and pedestrian behaviors to improve safety in several ways.

• Neighborhood speed watch—Radar speed units are loaned to residents who are trained by police to collect speed data and vehicle descriptions. The local agency follows up and sends the vehicle owners a letter asking for voluntary compliance. This measure can educate neighbors about the issue (e.g., speeders often live in the neighborhood) and help boost support for long-term solutions, such as traffic calming.
• Radar speed trailers and active speed monitors—Radar speed trailers can be used and supplemented with motor officer enforcement to educate people and help boost support for long-term solutions.
• Adult school crossing guards—Adult crossing guards can play a key role in promoting safe driver and pedestrian behavior at crosswalks near schools. Adult school crossing guards can be parent volunteers, school staff, or paid personnel. Annual classroom and field training, as well as special uniforms or equipment to increase visibility, are recommended (and in some locations required).

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