Police crackdown on jaywalkers after surge in people hit by cars
PEDESTRIANS across the inner west have been slapped with more than $75,000 in fines this year with police launching a crackdown on jaywalking and other illegal road crossing offences.
Inner West
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PEDESTRIANS across the inner west have been slapped with more than $75,000 in fines this year with police launching a crackdown on jaywalking and other illegal road crossing offences.
A whopping 1042 pedestrians have been fined $72 by officers for crossing on a red pedestrian light, moving into a driver’s path, not crossing on a pedestrian crossing, or standing on a road, compared to just 201 last year.
A total of 637 pedestrians have been hit by vehicles across Newtown, Redfern, Ashfield, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Flemington and Burwood local area commands in the last three years, with 20 people being killed.
A NSW Police spokesman said nine out of the 20 pedestrian deaths resulted in fault to the pedestrian.
This year, there has been a spike in the number of pedestrian deaths with 10 recorded in the inner west so far, compared to four last year and six in 2014.
A total of 60 pedestrians have already been killed in NSW this year.
King St and Enmore Rd at Newtown, and Parramatta Rd at Camperdown and Homebush, are hotspot areas for pedestrians being hit by vehicles.
There has been a spike in the number of pedestrian casualties in the inner west recently.
At midnight on October 23, a woman, 29, was struck by a silver Chrysler SRT 300 at Parramatta Rd, Camperdown. She was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with head injures and had surgery.
On October 9, a woman died after being hit by a bus at 11.40am on Cleveland St, Redfern.
An elderly man, 85, died in hospital after being struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Parramatta and Manson roads, Strathfield, at 5.30pm on October 5.
On October 3, a 34-year-old man was hit by a car at 11pm on Enmore Rd, Newtown.
He was crossing the road when he was hit by a ute.
Emergency services were called to Parramatta Rd, Homebush, at 7.10pm on August 29 and found a pregnant women, 27, suffering critical injuries. She died at the scene.
NSW Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon said the Look Out Before You Step Out campaign was recently launched to improve pedestrian safety.
“We are reminding people that taking risks and not being mindful and observant on the roads can end in tragedy,” Mr Carlon said.
“It’s important to have your head in the moment, make sure you look around and make safe decisions.
“We are reminding pedestrians to always cross with care and at traffic lights where possible and urging motorists to always stick to the speed limit.”
Mr Carlon said a pedestrian hit by a car at 50km/h was twice as likely to be killed as a person hit by a car travelling at 40km/h.
“We are never more vulnerable on the road than when we are on foot,” he said.
“We know that people these days are busier than ever and it’s easy to become complacent about safety, particularly when you are walking or driving a familiar route.”
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Pedestrian hot spots
● King St and Enmore Rd at Newtown
● Parramatta Rd at Camperdown
● Parramatta Rd at Homebush
● Cleveland St at Redfern
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