After five (5) months of pre-trial litigation, the matter was set down for trial. On the day of trial, Mr. Vella successfully convinced both the municipal prosecutor and the police officer involved that they would not be able to satisfy their burden of proof at trial. As a result, all charges were dismissed against “A.P.”

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Known as “Cops in Crosswalks,” the federally funded initiative places undercover police officers, posing as pedestrians, in marked crosswalks. Motorists who fail to stop for the undercover officers are stopped and issued warnings or tickets by uniformed officers a short distance away. The Division will be providing federal grants of $8,000 each to 13 police departments for the program, which will run from mid-July to mid-September. In addition, towns receiving year-long pedestrian safety grants from the Division will also participate in this initiative, which has been run in towns throughout the state for the past two years.

Fischer noted that the initiative will also help to reinforce New Jersey’s pedestrian safety law, which was amended on April 1, to require motorists to stop and stay stopped for pedestrians in marked crosswalks. Prior to the change, motorists were required to yield.

“By changing the language in the state’s 50-year old pedestrian statute from yield to stop, motorists now know that when they approach a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, they must stop and remain stopped to allow that pedestrian to cross safely,” Fischer stated. “The law also makes it unlawful for a vehicle to overtake or pass another vehicle that is stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross. It also infers that a motorist is at fault when there is a conflict between a vehicle and a pedestrian in a crosswalk.”

Pedestrians must also do their part under the amended law. “It’s a pedestrian’s responsibility to take due care when crossing the street,” she said. “That means that a pedestrian should never suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the roadway, where it is impossible for a motorist to stop. Pedestrians must also obey all traffic signs and signals, including ‘walk/don’t walk.’ If a pedestrian does enter the roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, he or she must yield the right of way to all motor vehicles.”

Motorists violating the law face a $200 fine, plus court costs, and 2 points on their license. They can also be subject to 15 days of community service and insurance surcharges. Pedestrians failing to comply with the law face a $54 fine, plus court costs.

The towns and townships participating in the Cops in Crosswalks program are:

Linwood, Northfield, Burlington City, Medford Twp, Cherry Hill, Collingswood, Vineland, Monroe Twp, New Brunswick, Piscataway, Red Bank.

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