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Show HERALD DAILY Thursday, July 17, 2008 A7 WORLD t Cops pose as pedestrians to nab crosswalk violators r. - Don Babwin THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO So why did officer Grace Delgado try to cross the road? To remind motorists that they must stop whenever someone steps off the curb into a crosswalk. In an unusual undercover operation, Delgado posed as a pedestrian on a busy street while fellow officers waited for drivers to barrel past her in violation of a law that requires them yield at crosswalks, even if there is no stop siga Chicago this year joined a growing number of big cities and small towns that are sending officers into traffic to make motorists pay more attention to pedestrians. "People, they don't care," said Delgado, whose bright pink baseball hat and orange blouse made her especially tough to miss. "It's 'Get out of my way.' The whole " mentality is 'Get out of my way.' With Delgado's help, police stopped 78 vehicles in just two hours and told them they'd violated a law that's been on the books for years. That number easily could have been doubled, but officers stopped only drivers who kept moving after Delgado had walked four or five feet into the road. When they were pulled over, motorists offered all kinds of explanations: One saw the pedestrian in the crosswalk but hadn't heard about the law requiring him to stop. Another knew about the law but didn't see the pedestrian. Nearly 4,800 pedestrians were killed and 61,000 injured in 2006, according to the most recent statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Chicago alone, 65 pedestrians have died annually in recent years. The number of deaths has dropped, but there is concern those numbers could climb again as more vehicles hit the road and the elderly population skyrockets. "We're beginning to see a healthy desire of older folks to remain active and go out for their daily walks," said Doug Hecox, spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration. "That, along with more cars ... is a recipe for danger." Some communities already are seeing more walkers because of the slow 1 MICHAEL MCCOLLUMThe Lompoc Record Rescue workers pull a truck out of the water after a fatal vehicle accident Tuesday in Westley, Calif., in which seven died. Sixth body pulled from Calif, canal after crash Garance Burke the crash occurred, said Pete THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Lucero, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The bureau operates the A sixth FRESNO, Calif. canal that funnels water body was pulled from a rufrom a pumping plant to the ral, central California canal western San Joaquin Valley. Wednesday after a collision Driver Luis Perez, 45, had between a septic truck and a been cleaning out portable toisport utility vehicle carrying lets in a nearby orchard before farm workers from a peach the crash, said Paige Dawson, orchard. A seventh victim a spokeswoman for United Site remained .missing and is preServices Inc., which owns the sumed dead. The latest victim was found septic truck. in the swift, brackish waters of Up to five gallons of sewage the canal about 10 miles from spilled from the truck into the the wreck in Westley, sheriff's canal but won't pose a problem for water quality, said Frances deputies said. The victim was identified as Adrianna Garcia, Mizuno, assistant executive director for the San Luis & 17, from Lodi. Water Authority. Family members and witAraceli Martinez, who lost nesses said the SUV was two relatives in the wreck, said taking six laborers from the both had recently traveled to orchard back home to Lodi, California Highway Patrol Of- California from the Mexican state of Guerrero to support ficer Mayolo Banuelos said. their families. Initial reports suggested that two people had been in the "They were such hard workers until yesterday when this truck, but investigators now accident took their lives," she believe there was only one, the driven His body has been said. "They just came to help their families." recovered. The cause of Tuesday's I Associated Press writers crash remained under investiTracie Cone in Fresno and gation. Divers were called off Marcus Wohlsen in San the search after six hours. The canal runs about 17 feet Francisco, contributed to this report. deep and 100 feet wide where 117-mi- Delta-Mendo- st economy. "The way gas pricesare, people are rediscovering their feet," sai3i?am Fischer, highway traffic safety director in New Jersey, which recently launched a "Cops in the Crosswalks" program. In Chicago, most drivers were puzzled After ii year in the retail piano business, Heritage Music is closing its doors forever. TTT TTT T7" JUJLI Thurs-F- , ' 4 RICH L HEINChicago to find themselves pulled over. Roland Sapitula said that stopping was simply not an option. "It was too late for me to get on the brakes," he said. Louis Ramirez, 84, said he didn't see and he wouldn't have stopped Delgado for her if he had. "There's no sign out there," he said. "I do not have to stop." Officers gave motorists a brief lecture about the law, then sent relieved drivers on their way. But police understand that the only thing more effective than a lecture from a police officer is a lecture and a ticket. "If there's really no threat of getting a ticket for it, you're not going to really pay attention," said officer Chuck Tren-dlwho was working with Delgado. In Essex County, N.J., authorities "tried the educational route for years," said Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the prosecutor's office. "But until you hit somebody in the wallet, it doesn't stick." The threat of a ticket seemed to work in Bellingham, Wash. After the city started a police-deco- y program in 2002, e, the percentage of drivers who yielded at least 25 percent even at corners where tickets were not being issued. In St. Petersburg, Fla., the results were even more impressive. The per- centage of motorists who yielded to pedestrians jumped from 2 percent in 2003 to 82 percent in 2007, after police began writing tickets, educating the public and installing flashing beacons. Pedestrian crashes dropped 17 percent between 2005 and 2006. "It starts putting pedestrians on their radar," said Ron Van Houten, a Western Michigan University psychology professor who has studied pedestrian safety and trained officers around the nation, including Chicago. Police say undercover pedestrians will focus attention on crosswalk safety the same way that giving tickets for seat belt violations convinced more people to buckle up in the 1980s. "Eventually, people get it," Trendle said. 0 Financing OAC Money Back Guarantee Save 45 Day 100 Kohler & Campbell Roland Yamaha Aid r - i u Per Hearing Samick 7. 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