Consider yourself on alert!
In support of the Road Safety Action Plan and the “Be Super Safe” outreach campaign, the Seattle Police Department’s Traffic Section will be conducting pedestrian safety emphasis patrols on Wednesday, September 18th on four key Seattle corridors: North 45th Street, Rainier Avenue South, Aurora Avenue North and Lake City Way.
The locations were selected based on numbers of pedestrian-related collisions in corridors across the city. Enforcement will focus on behaviors that are most commonly associated with these collisions, specifically speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and following the rules of the road, such as yielding to those who have the right of way.
Seattle’s long-term road safety goal is to have zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030. Currently, there is an average of 500 pedestrian-involved collisions each year. Between 2007 and 2010, 30 pedestrians were killed in crashes on our streets. While pedestrian-involved collisions made up only 2% of all collisions during the same time period, pedestrians represented 24% of all serious injuries and fatalities.
More patrols will be scheduled in the future as the implementation of the Road Safety Action Plan continues.