Red Bank Pedestrian Decoy Leads To 35 Traffic Stops: Police

RED BANK, NJ - A police decoy aimed at increasing motorists’ visibility and awareness of pedestrians in downtown Red Bank resulted in dozens of traffic stops last week, authorities said.

The decoy operation, which consisted of nonuniform pedestrians walking on crosswalks at E Front Street/Riverview Plaza and Broad Street/Leroy Place, prompted around 35 total traffic stops, Red Bank police said. Vehicles that didn’t stop for the pedestrian decoy were stopped by police officers further down the road.

Following the detail, signage and crosswalks were updated at both of the locations to increase visibility in response to citizen complaints, police said.

The decoy operation was part of an ongoing pedestrian safety enforcement effort by the Red Bank Police Department under a grant from the New Jersey Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to the agency, 179 pedestrians were killed in New Jersey in 2020 alone, representing 32 percent of the motor vehicle fatalities in the state that year.