23 MN Pedestrians Already Killed in 2012...

Last year, 857 Minnesota pedestrians were killed or injured, up by nearly 50 from the year before. In 35 percent of those cases, drivers failed to yield to pedestrians.

Already the deadliest of the last five years --

23 MN pedestrians have been killed so far in 2012



The Pedestrian Death Toll this Time Last Year

14

This Is Not A Movie

As reported in the Star Tribune by Kelly Smith:

Cléo Thiberge seemed to do everything right.

Before crossing Hamline Avenue in St. Paul, the 19-year-old waited. She watched traffic. And when the walk sign blinked on, she stepped off the curb.

That's when a vehicle rounding the corner struck the exchange student from France. She died on Sept. 2, a day after a couple was struck and killed in Ramsey.

"We owe it to ourselves, because we are all pedestrians, to talk about it and focus on it," said Gordy Pehrson of the Department of Public Safety. "There needs to be more awareness and enforcement."

Across the metro, police are ratcheting up crosswalk crackdowns, cities are installing more neon yellow crossing signs and engineers are shifting street design to consider pedestrians as well as motorists. The state is this month also launching its first pedestrian safety campaign in nearly 15 years
"I don't think people really understand what they're supposed to do" near a crosswalk, said Minnetonka Police Chief Mark Raquet. "... Common sense would tell you if you see someone in the curb, you should stop -- if you're paying attention."
Concerns over inattentive drivers have spurred police metro-wide to step up crosswalk patrols.

Last month, Robbinsdale police cited 80 drivers over two days in a first-ever crosswalk sting. Edina boosted their crosswalk enforcement in July, starting a new annual crosswalk campaign around such popular areas as Southdale Center. In Minneapolis, the city has increased crosswalk times and is experimenting with a new pedestrian-friendly signal pattern in Uptown, giving pedestrians a four-second head start to enter the crosswalk so drivers can see them before turning. Complete Article

From the Minnesota Safety Council

The Minnesota Crosswalk Law: Key Elements

• Where traffic control signals are not in place or in operation, a driver must stop for a pedestrian crossing within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk. A vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk can proceed once the pedestrian has completely crossed the lane in front of the stopped vehicle.
• A pedestrian must not enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is approaching. There is no defined distance that a pedestrian must abide by before entering the crosswalk, but common sense should prevail. The law states: "No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield."
• When a vehicle is stopped at an intersection to allow pedestrians to cross the roadway, drivers of other vehicles approaching from the rear must not pass the other vehicle.
• It's unlawful for the driver of a motor vehicle to proceed through a group of school children crossing a street or highway, or past a member of a school safety patrol or adult crossing guard who is directing children across the roadway and who is holding an official signal in the stop position.
• Failure to obey the law is a misdemeanor. A second violation within one year is a gross misdemeanor.