Ready for ticket time?
B' Spokes: In the following article it looks like Anne Arundel County Police are going to get tough on motorists.
"Annapolis police Officer Eric Davis writes a citation for running through a stop sign. Davis, one of the biggest ticket writers in the department, said tickets make the roads safer and make motorists pay attention while driving."
But listen to what people are saying in the comments, again any wounder why we have one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates, it simply is a non-issue for police.]
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Crosswalks - 2010-05-11 13:33:13
Living in the City Dock area I don't see motorists stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks as being a problem. Traffic, low vehicle speeds, and the large number of people walking around seems to prevent a problem. I am however amazed at the number of people who just feel they can cross Main Street wherever they want to whenever the want to.
Once outside of City Dock there is a big problem with motorists not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks. Less traffic, higher vehicle speeds, and longer crosswalks pose a problem. I routinely cross the Taylor Ave. crosswalk (Naval Stadium to DNR and Court bldgs) and it is surprising the number of motorists who will not stop to allow pedestrians to cross. Since I have 0 trust that a motorist will stop for me I never start walking onto the crosswalk assuming they'll stop. Instead I'll sit there as 5, 10, 15 cars sometime pass before someone allows me to cross.
And the next time I see an officer pull over someone blowing through a crosswalk at this location will be the first even though officers are routinely sitting at that intersection looking to turn onto Taylor. I can recall at least 10 times a motorist(s) has blown through a crosswalk with an officer sitting right there doing nothing. The most unbelievable occurrence was when two police cars were at the intersection and a car that was far down Taylor Ave. barely in sight when we started crossing actually sped up and and wheeled far into the other lane just to get around those of us halfway across the street. They did nothing about it. Guess it's not worth their time.
Jim Dandy - Annapolis, MD
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crosswalks - 2010-05-10 16:36:26
I couldn't agree with you more, I enjoy a nice walk around Annapolis. At times I feel I have a bulls-eye stamped on my back for motorists to run me over. I could retire with just the amount of money I could get writing tickets in the pedestrian walkway in front of the police station where people drive 40-45 in a 25 mph zone and slam on there brakes as I cross.
Kevin Gallimore - Annapolis , MD
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crosswalks - 2010-05-10 15:02:25
One area the Annapolis police enforcement gets an F grade is in pedestrian safety. Few motorists give the right of way to pedestrians. For example, try crossing the street at the crosswalk at city hall, or on West. st. at park place. On the other hand,at the Ann Arundel Community College, motorists give pedestrians the right of way near 100% - Annapolis city, perhaps 8%. If enforcement is an active program, eventually the habits of motorists will change as AACC has shown.
Demetrios Fotos - annapolis, MD
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What to do when you see red, blue in the rearview
By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer
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County officers issued 15,368 tickets for moving violations in 2009. They also gave out more than 50,000 warnings. In the city, officers issued 7,686 tickets in 2009. So far this year, they've handed out more than 1,500.
During two separate ride-alongs with county and city police veterans, The Capital gathered tips on how to avoid getting pulled over - and what to do when you are.
It sounds cliched, but you can avoid a lot of headaches by simply paying attention and obeying the speed limit, traffic signs and lights.
Officer Eric Davis, a 16-year veteran of the Annapolis Police Department, said most of tickets he hands out are for simple traffic violations.
People don't pay attention when they're driving. A stop sign means all four wheels stop, he explains. Turn signals should be used whenever you're turning. Many mistakes like these go back to what you learned in driver's ed.
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Speeding accounts for about half of the tickets he issues. Most of the time, it seems like people are just in a hurry.
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