Plainclothes police enforce New Jersey crosswalk law

The sight of a police officer tends to put motorists on their best behavior. But what if a driver isn't aware of an officer's presence?

On Thursday morning, Collingswood Officer Anthony Garbarino stood before a crosswalk on Haddon Avenue at Irwin Avenue, about to cross the street. A vehicle whizzed by.

"Red car," Garbarino said loud enough for others around him to hear.

A minute later, a uniformed officer pulled the car over, and Garbarino, wearing a red T-shirt and jeans, was standing on the other side of the street, waiting to cross back. He did this more than 20 times.

Garbarino is one of several officers acting as decoys under the "Cops in Crosswalks" program, which will run throughout the state until mid-September.

The program is being funded by a federal grant awarded to 13 police departments, including those in Collingswood, Medford, and Cherry Hill.

Each town will receive $8,000. The program's goal is to catch motorists who fail to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, Pam Fischer, director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said at the start-up event on Haddon Avenue on Thursday.

Since 2004, about 150 pedestrians annually have been killed in New Jersey and 6,000 injured, Fischer said.

She said penalties increase under the new initiative: Drivers who don't stop for pedestrians will get a $200 ticket, two points on their license, and a possible 15 days of community service. They may also face insurance surcharges and court costs.

Negligent pedestrians who haphazardly run into the street without looking will be punished with a $54 fine, Fischer said.

These penalties apply for all motorists and pedestrians who break this law, not just those who miss the decoy, Fischer said.

Collingswood Police Chief Richard Sarlo said there are numerous accidents and near-misses that result from the simple act of crossing the street.

"This is a small community, but there is a large amount of pedestrians," Sarlo said.

Mayor James Maley said the city is known as a pedestrian-friendly town, with shops and restaurants along Haddon Avenue. But traffic can be overwhelming and safety is paramount.

"Being able to walk from place to place is vital to [Collingswood's] character," Maley said. "People should be able to walk the neighborhood without putting their lives in harm's way."

Police Sgt. Michael Taulane said some motorists had complained that the police are trying to hit them in the wallet with excessive tickets, but he said that's not the case.

"This is not about us getting money. It's about saving lives," Taulane said. "We don't want someone to come here to go to a restaurant for dinner and get hit by a car."

Resident Pat Chamberlin, who was raised in Collingswood and raised her now-grown boys there, said being able to walk around is what keeps her from moving away.

But in recent years, she said, the traffic, especially around lunchtime, has become unbearable.

"As a single mother, when my boys were growing up here, I never had to worry about getting them to their Little League games; they could go themselves," Chamberlin said. "Nowadays, the roads are just crazy."

Fischer said there seems to be a lot of ambiguity about who has the right of way when it comes to crosswalks. To clarify that, New Jersey's pedestrian-safety law was amended on April 1 to require motorists to stop, and stay stopped, for pedestrians in marked crosswalks, rather then yielding.

"Yes, pedestrians need to look, too, but it's the duty of the driver to stop," she said. "When it comes to a match between a 4,000-pound car and a pedestrian, let's face it, the pedestrian is going to lose."

She said her slogan is "zero fatalities is our bottom line."

Chamberlin agreed.

"There are so many other stresses out there, crossing the street shouldn't have to be one of them," she said.