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Morning sting reminds Albuquerque drivers of pedestrians' right of way

By Maggie Shepard
Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Officer Nadine Hamby of the Albuquerque Police Department hustles back to the curb on Central Avenue near San Pedro Drive Northeast as drivers pass through the crosswalk and Officer Andy Drexler keeps count. Police were pulling drivers over this morning and warning them that pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way.

Photo by Steven St. JohnTribune

Tribune

Officer Nadine Hamby of the Albuquerque Police Department hustles back to the curb on Central Avenue near San Pedro Drive Northeast as drivers pass through the crosswalk and Officer Andy Drexler keeps count. Police were pulling drivers over this morning and warning them that pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way.

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A police safety sting operation along Central Avenue this morning caused some outrage, solicited some catcalls from passers-by and caused a minor crash.

Albuquerque police officers also hope it raised some awareness about pedestrian safety.

The sting operation this morning between Louisiana Boulevard and San Pedro Drive near Expo New Mexico marks the start of a monthlong project to spread the word about pedestrian safety.

The need is critical, police say. New Mexico ranks worst in the nation for pedestrian fatalities, and an average of 200 pedestrians are injured in Albuquerque each year.

Officers plan to set up similar operations at two other locations this week, three next week and three more a week later, said Officer Andy Drexler.

"It's like fishing," he said. "You can't get everyone. We're trying to spread the word."

Judging by the immediate reaction from drivers, the idea wasn't popular along Central this morning.

Amid catcalls and angry hand gestures from drivers, Albuquerque Police Officer Nadine Hamby - dressed in shorts, a tight T-shirt and a fanny pack - would step gingerly into the crosswalk in front of traffic.

If drivers stopped to let her cross - as state and city law requires - they continued on their way east.

If they didn't stop - and few did - waiting officers from the Police Department's traffic unit pounced, writing out warnings for failing to yield to a pedestrian and checking for other violations such as lack of insurance. No tickets were issued for crosswalk violations.

Officer Warren Kelm was one of five officers waiting on a side street where offenders were pulled over to receive their warning citations.

He said the operation calculated the distance it would take for a slow-reacting driver to stop in time for the pedestrian, then they set up cones to mark this distance.

"It's more than enough time," Kelm said.

Drivers who merely swerved to another lane or slowed down but did not stop were fair game, Drexler said.

Watching Hamby from the sidewalk, Drexler alerted other officers by radio to particularly bad violators.

Some drivers made angry hand gestures to the undercover pedestrian. Handfuls of men - including two in an Albuquerque Public Schools maintenance truck - hollered "Hey babe" or other such remarks. Still others sped around vehicles that had stopped to let Hamby cross.

Some drivers slammed on their brakes when Hamby ventured into the road several steps, then drove on after realizing she wasn't going to continue crossing.

About a half hour before the project wrapped up, some of the hard braking caused a rear-end crash.

A 23-year-old driver who gave only his first name, Benjamin, said he wasn't sure what to make of the scene as he drove his work truck to a job site.

"I've never seen anyone jump out in traffic like that," Benjamin said of the undercover pedestrian. "I was kind of worried about the person behind me also."

Benjamin slowed down but kept driving.

Then he saw officers waving at him to turn down the side road.

He was relieved when Kelm gave him a warning and an informational pamphlet on pedestrian laws.

"Hopefully, you'll share this with your family and friends," Kelm told Benjamin.

The pamphlet declares that the state has the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities in the nation and in Albuquerque the average of 200 pedestrians are injured each year.

Tribune archive stories indicated a high number of these injuries and fatalities are caused by pedestrian error.

Kelm said because of this factor, the safety campaign also addresses jaywalking and proper road crossing.

One man snared in the operations was implicated as both a driver and a jaywalker.

Sean Garcia, who said he is a private investigator, was pulled over in the operation and given a warning for not stopping for the pedestrian.

He was so mad, he pulled over his vehicle, got out and started taking pictures, even stepping out into the road.

That earned him a jaywalking citation, he said.

"I didn't really like how they did that," Garcia said. "They said I didn't use the sidewalk."