In an effort to reduce pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle collisions, the Morgan Hill Police Department will partner with law enforcement agencies throughout Santa Clara County April 26 to conduct a high-visibility, directed traffic enforcement operation, according to a press release from MHPD.
The operation, hosted by MHPD, will take place 7 to 11 a.m. April 26. Similar operations will be conducted monthly throughout the year, rotating through the participating agencies.
On April 26, Officers from Campbell Police Department, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Mountain View PD, Milpitas PD, San Jose PD, Santa Clara PD and Los Altos PD will be deployed within the City of Morgan Hill, cracking down on vehicle code violators, the press release states. Special attention will be paid to pedestrian and bicycle violations along the arterial roadways of Morgan Hill.
These violations will include pedestrian right-of-way, jaywalking, three-foot buffer for bicyclists, red light/stop sign violations, distracted driving and any other dangerous violations that are observed.
The Morgan Hill Police Department reminds motorists, pedestrians and cyclists:
• Pedestrians and bicyclists should cross streets at marked crosswalks or intersections and obey traffic signals such as “Walk” and “Don’t Walk” signs;
• Pedestrians and bicyclists should not wear headphones or talk on their cell phones while in the roadway;
• Bicyclists should have their bicycle equipped with a white light on the front visible from a distance of 300 feet and a red reflector visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear, during darkness;
• Bicyclists operating on the roadway are subject to obeying all rules of the road, including stop signs and lighted traffic signals;
• Bicyclists shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian.
The MHPD press release adds that some of the “unsafe behavior associated with pedestrian and bicycle violations, crashes and fatalities” includes:
• Speeding (even 5 MPH can make the difference between seriousness of injuries);
• Failure to stop for red lights or stop signs;
• Failure to yield to pedestrians and bicyclists;
• Distracted driving;
• Blocking crosswalks;
• Turning on permitted light (green signal) but not looking for pedestrian properly crossing in crosswalk, resulting in right and left turn crashes with pedestrians.
