The San Diego Police Department announced that officers are conducting bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operations this President’s Day holiday weekend.
The SDPD has repeatedly conducted the increased enforcement over the last several months.
Police mapped out locations throughout San Diego where pedestrian- and bicycle-involved collisions have occurred over the last three years, and are focusing routine traffic patrols on known “trouble spots,” according to a statement from the department.
Special targeted patrols will also be deployed to crack down on drivers who violate traffic laws, as well as pedestrians who cross the street illegally or fail to yield when traffic has the right-of-way.
San Diego police have investigated thousands of fatal and injury collisions involving bicyclists and pedestrians over the past three years, the statement said.
According to the department, there were 701 pedestrian deaths in the state of California in 2013 — 23 percent of all roadway fatalities and much higher than the national average of 15 percent.
Funding for the enforcement operations program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
–City News Service