Bristol Borough Chief of Police Joe Moors is asking residents to pay attention to crosswalks and stop signs.
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Starting this week through Sunday, June 4, Bristol Borough police will be stepping up their enforcement with the help of state grant funding.
Mayor Ralph DiGuiseppe III said the grant money will allow borough officers to increase their enforcement.
“We are going to have some plain clothes police officers in crosswalks,” the mayor said. “It’s the law to stop when people are in crosswalks and we’re just trying to make the town safer.”
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DiGuiseppe said the enforcement effort is important to keep locals and visitors safe. The enforcement also comes ahead of the summer festival season that draws thousands of people to the borough.
“We’re going to be out there,” Moors said.
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PennDOT has a summary of pedestrian laws:
• When a pedestrian crosses the street in a crosswalk, the driver must yield.
‣ Drivers are not required to yield until you begin to step into the crosswalk.
‣ Pedestrians should not walk or run unexpectedly into the path of a moving vehicle. Pedestrians should not assume drivers will see or yield. Look left, right, and left again before stepping out.
‣ It is illegal for drivers to pass a vehicle that is stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, as the second driver may not see the pedestrian in the crosswalk.
• If a pedestrian crosses the street not at an intersection and there is no crosswalk, the pedestrian must yield to vehicles.
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• When crossing the street at a signalized intersection, both pedestrians and motorists must obey the traffic-control devices.
‣ These signs and signals help identify who must yield.
• When walking along a road with sidewalks and its use is practicable, it is unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway.
Also speaking of the police department, DiGuiseppe said the borough has put a new police SUV and a marked Ford F-150 pickup truck in service.
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The mayor said residents have noticed the new pickup truck, the police department’s first, and it is the “talk of the town.”
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