41 Lake Elsinore Drivers Ticketed In Operation

LAKE ELSINORE, CA -- Dozens of drivers in Lake Elsinore were cited Thursday during a pedestrian safety enforcement operation. The operation, aimed at reducing crashes involving pedestrians, took place from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Forty-three drivers were stopped during the operation and 41 drivers were given tickets, police said.

Police surveyed crosswalk locations where previous complaints had been received from pedestrians and where collisions have occurred.

Pedestrian fatalities are rising in California as more people use non-motorized means of transportation. Locally, Lake Elsinore Police Department has investigated seven fatal and injury collisions involving pedestrians during the past three years.

In 2016, California witnessed 867 pedestrian deaths accounting for nearly 24 percent of all roadway fatalities, much higher than the national average of 15 percent, police said.

A national study reveals that pedestrians and drivers do not obey laws and signals consistently and many often use cell phones, text and listen to music while walking or driving. Only 60 percent of pedestrians said they expected drivers to stop when they were in crosswalks, even though they have the right-of-way, police said.

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