For Immediate Release
Tahnee Lightfoot, Public Information Officer
818-548-3140 (office)
818-967-7088 (cell)
tlightfoot@glendaleca.gov
The Glendale Police Department will step up Bike & Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operations on Saturday, August 1, 2015, with focused enforcement on collision causing factors involving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.
The department has mapped out locations over the past two years where pedestrian and bike collisions have occurred, along with the violations that led to those crashes. Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas where bike and pedestrian traffic and crashes occur in an effort to lower deaths and injuries.
Officers will be looking for violations made by drivers, bike riders and pedestrians alike that can lead to life changing injuries. Special attention will be directed toward drivers speeding, making illegal turns, failing to stop for signs and signals, failing to yield to pedestrians in cross walks or any other dangerous violation.
Additionally, enforcement will be taken for observed violations when pedestrians cross the street illegally or fail to yield to drivers who have the right of way. Bike riders will be stopped and citations issued when they fail to follow the same traffic laws that apply to motorists. All riders are reminded to always wear a helmet – those under 18 years of age must wear helmets by law. Pedestrians should cross the street only in marked crosswalks or at corners.
Locally, the Glendale Police Department has investigated 9 fatal collisions and 487 injury collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists during the past three (3) years. In 2012, California witnessed 612 pedestrian and 124 bicyclists killed that year while nationally; 4,743 pedestrians and 726 bicyclists were killed. The Governors Highway Safety Association’s & the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2012 Data reports reveal that California leads the nations in bicycle and pedestrian deaths.
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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The City of Glendale is ranked one of the safest cities in the United States. With a population over 196,000, Glendale is a thriving cosmopolitan city that is rich in history, culturally diverse, and offers limitless opportunities. It is the home to a vibrant business community, with major companies in healthcare, entertainment, manufacturing, retail and banking.