RALEIGH — Triangle-area law enforcement agencies will be stepping up their efforts to enforce pedestrian safety laws as part of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Watch for Me NC campaign.
The campaign, funded in part by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is aimed at reducing motor vehicle-pedestrian crashes in the Triangle through greater awareness and enforcement of pedestrian safety laws. Each year in the region, more than 400 people are hit while walking and of those, roughly 350 people are injured or killed.
While the campaign began in August with a series of advertisements promoting safer pedestrian and driver behaviors, the campaign now begins its second phase with strategic enforcement of pedestrian laws, such as assuring that drivers yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
“State law requires drivers to yield to people in crosswalks. Through this enforcement effort, we hope to raise awareness and encourage drivers and pedestrians alike to follow the law and do their part to keep our roads safe for everyone,” said NCDOT Deputy Secretary of Transit Paul Morris.
Over the coming months, Triangle-area law enforcement agencies will conduct enforcement campaigns at areas where motor vehicle-pedestrian crashes are most prevalent. Those locations have been identified as high-risk crossings for pedestrians based on an evaluation of several years’ pedestrian crashes performed by the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. Law enforcement officers will be issuing warnings and citations to drivers and pedestrians who fail to follow state and local pedestrian laws.
To learn more about the campaign, contact the police departments of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill or Carrboro, or visit www.watchformenc.org.