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Jaywalkers beware: Police crackdown on bicyclist, pedestrian violations to end of Sept. | Ryn Gargulinski: Rynski Life
by Ryn Gargulinski | Blogski Archives, crime, danger, death, life, police, fire, law, stupidity | 16 comments
The next time you feel like darting willy-nilly across the middle of the street on foot or on your bicycle, think again.
Not only does such an action put you in danger of being mowed down by a street sweeper or mini-van, but you are now in increased peril of getting a ticket.
The Tucson Police Department is in the midst of a crackdown on violations involving bicyclists, pedestrians – and motorists who disobey rules related to the two, according to a news release from the department.
The crackdown started earlier this month and will be going on through the end of September. A grant is paying for this special enforcement deployment.
Time to cut out all that jaywalking.
It’s also time to note some of the most common violations pointed out by TPD.
Not giving bicyclists at least three feet of room while passing them
Not coming to a “complete stop” at red lights and stop sign
Not looking in both directions after stopping to make sure you don’t hit a bicyclist, pedestrian or other car
Jaywalking, jaywalking, jaywalking – Tucson has all those jazzy crosswalks for a reason
Violations of Tucson City Code 20-92: Jaywalking currently carries a $161 fine (That’s one pair of shoes, maybe two)
Not waiting for WALK signals at intersections
Not following same rules that apply to motorists, including riding with traffic
Not giving “appropriate” hand signals for turning and stopping
Not stopping for red lights and stop signs
Not wearing a helmet if younger than 18
Not having at least a headlight and rear reflector for nighttime riding
Some of the finest moves we’ve witnessed:
Bicyclist riding against traffic along Oracle Road dragging a small dog by the leash while the dog careened dangerously into outer lane traffic
Bicyclists hogging the sidewalk, yelling at pedestrians who are using it, like our pal belligerent bike boy
Pedestrians bolting across the street in the middle of the night, “wearing dark clothing and not in a crosswalk”
Pedestrians flipping off or yelling at cars that refuse to stop for them when they dart out of nowhere in the middle of a car-packed street
Motorists have way too many stupid moves to list
2009 statistics from the TPD website:
Fatal accidents, motor vehicle vs pedestrian: 8
Fatal accidents, motor vehicle vs bicycle: 2
Personal injuries, motor vehicle vs. pedestrian: 225
Personal injuries, motor vehicle vs. bicycle: 221
Property damage, motor vehicle vs. pedestrian: 36
Property damage, motor vehicle vs. bicycle: 71
Sorry, no stats immediately available on jaywalking tickets – but we did find 115 reports of road rage.
Watch your step/Ryn Gargulinski
What do you think?
Have you ever gotten a ticket as a bicyclist or pedestrian?
What about as a motorist violating rules involving bicyclists or pedestrians?
What other stupid moves have you seen bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists make?
leftfield on 08/25/2010 at 9:03 am
I have never experienced road rage; some mild irritation when someone does something that could be a safety threat.  It seems to me the equivalent of working yourself into a snit over someone with 16 items in the “15 items or less” check-put line.  In either case, I’m not going to give the other party that much power over how I feel at any given moment.
I will admit to the occasional episode of Captcha rage, something that is becoming the new road rage, I understand.
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Rynski on 08/25/2010 at 9:54 am
hahhaha! oh, that captcha rage – IT just told me there was some of that going around, but this is the first i’m hearing of it firsthand.
here’s some captcha  hints i found useful:
the Zs are really 7s
the Ss are really 5s (or was that the 5s are really Ss?)
the 2s are really Zs which are really 7s unless they are Ss or 5s.
good for you on rising above the road rage – as well as the overloaded express lane rage – keep that power!!! hahahhaha
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Oakland on 08/25/2010 at 9:23 am
Every day I see a bicyclist doing something illegal. They are suppose to fallow all traffic laws.
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Rynski on 08/25/2010 at 9:58 am
think i see all THREE! – bikes, peds and drivers – pulling illegal moves daily – or at least a lot. sigh. hopefully $160 will deter some of those “dark clothing, not in a crosswalk” people who like to cross alvernon in the middle of the night….
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Alan in Kent WA on 08/25/2010 at 9:49 am
When I lived in Santa Fe, SFPD ran sting both ways for pedestrians:  Crossing the street and checking for drivers to yield, and marked cars looking for jaywalkers.  Both of these moves were very popular with all that lived there as both foot traffic and motorists created havoc in equal proportion.
Here in the PRS, we had tolerant politically correct carbon neutral bicyclists beat up motorists for not yielding to passing human powered two wheelers while parallel parking.  Power to the People Right On!
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Rynski on 08/25/2010 at 10:10 am
hahahha! always love your snippets of life in the carbon neutral zone – i know i’d need plenty of that fresh air for breathing deep to calm down – hahahhaha
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fraser007 on 08/25/2010 at 10:06 am
Guess we have the gang problems solved and the Cartel drugs stopped and have caught all of the meth head burglars and all of the drunk drivers are home in bed. What b******t.
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Rynski on 08/25/2010 at 10:12 am
ha! gotta get those jaywalkers, now!
to the dept’s credit, this deployment is being paid for by a grant – so no resources are being taken away from the fun stuff mentioned above.
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fraser007 on 08/25/2010 at 10:25 am
Well heck that makes me feel a lot better…LOL So why not use those funds to take some gang members off the street or drunk drivers put away. I have had two friends killed by drunk drivers, been burglared a few imes and my niece had her house shot up by Cartel members in Phoenix.( the shooters had been looking for their victim and he hid under their car in the driveway and they drove by and shot 23 rounds into the vehicle and house. They were almost killed). But we gotta get those jaywalkers.!!!! I say again b******t.
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Rynski on 08/25/2010 at 1:21 pm
aw, man – so sorry to hear of your friends’ deaths, burglaries and shoot-em-up in phoenix. dang. 23 rounds????
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fraser007 on 08/25/2010 at 3:39 pm
And they still want us to raise our taxes so they can ticket jaywalkers? HA! I know it was a “grant” but it was somebodies money at one time. Stuff it TPD…go catch some gangbangers.
fraser007 on 08/25/2010 at 4:11 pm
True but it was SOMEBODIES money at one time. Thats where “grant” money comes from. And they want us to approve more taxes in the next election to pay for the cops to do this. Stuff it TPD go catch some gangbangers. (if you can) I know where there are a lot.
leftfield on 08/25/2010 at 4:54 pm
True but it was SOMEBODIES money at one time.
I looked it up, fraser, and you are correct-a-mundo.  In fact, when I asked the lady at the Dept. of Indifference, she said the money spent was all money taken from fraser007!  What’s more, she said that they took what was left of your money and they gave it away to an overweight, undocumented immigrant with ten illegitimate children by ten different women who is claiming that his obesity and drug/sex addiction are disabilities that are keeping him from working.  He is confined to his house where he drinks and smokes his day away, watching the big screen TV that you can’t afford because the government took your money to give to him.  Imagine that!
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fraser007 on 08/25/2010 at 8:37 pm
Sorry about the second posting. Thought I had lost the first one.
Leftfield: I know that family they live 5 houses away from me!
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Rynski on 08/26/2010 at 11:57 am
THIS JUST IN from TPD – 11:56 a.m. AUG. 26:
SPECIAL DEPLOYMENT AUG. 27
On August 27, 2010 the Tucson Police Traffic Section will conduct a nighttime deployment concentrating on roadways in the area of the University of Arizona, 4th Ave. and the Central Business District (Downtown). The deployment will focus on traffic enforcement as it relates to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motor vehicles, with additional emphasis on impaired driving.  The deployment will run from approximately 9:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. This deployment is part of the grant-funded bicycle / pedestrian safety initiative that began on August 10 and will run until the end of September.
This deployment is timed to coincide with the first week that many University of Arizona students are returning to the Tucson area. The purpose of this deployment is to educate and provide a safe environment to the students, bicyclists and motoring public.
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KC on 09/01/2010 at 7:53 pm
Ten Homicides in 14 days? And this is how we are spending our Public Safety dollars? Grant money or not this is a WASTE!