Today's generation is a generation of the more environmentally friendly. It is also a generation that has to live on a more restricted budget. What that means in regards to traffic trends is that there might be more pedestrians out on the roads than in prior years.
A Star-Ledger editorial addresses this trend and suggests how it not only puts pedestrians and motorists in danger on New Jersey roads, but it also creates another reason for local drivers to get angry over traffic citations they receive due to craziness at the crosswalks.
At certain crosswalks New Jersey law enforcement will hold stings. They watch for technical traffic violations involving motorists and pedestrians. Generally, pedestrians have the right of way in a crosswalk, a condition that can set drivers up to be ticketed.
Some drivers argue that the tickets aren't always necessarily fair. Pedestrians are given too much freedom in the traffic situation within crosswalks. Shouldn't there be standards regarding the safe, responsible and legal use of crosswalks? Critics of crosswalk traffic violations claim that pedestrians can create dangerous traffic situations by jumping out into the crosswalk.
A ticket for a traffic violation costs a driver $230. It's a great expense and can be more than financially frustrating when a driver truly believes that it was a pedestrian who created the traffic problem.
Source: The Star-Ledger, "Crosswalk stings remind drivers they don't own the whole road: Editorial," April 13, 2013
- Moving violations can significantly impact a person's driving privileges. Visit our Bergen County Traffic Violation Defense Attorney page to learn about how important it is to fight what might seem like just a minor ticket.