Pedestrian deaths spur undercover sting

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Austin police are going undercover at some city crosswalks to target drivers who do not yield to pedestrians.

The initiative is a direct response to the high number of pedestrian traffic deaths in Austin this year.

Some 19 pedestrians have been killed in crashes with cars so far this year.

"We're trying to come up with ways how we can prevent and reduce the number," said APD Lt. Troy Officer. "What we're trying to do is trying to change behavior -- behavior of the pedestrians and the behavior of the drivers."

APD officers are posing as pedestrians with other officers watching nearby.

If a driver fails to follow the law, they are flagged down and given a warning. The warnings will continue for the first couple of weeks of the new initiative, and then drivers will be given tickets.

"I think, for the most part, people appreciate what it is and what the law is and why it's here," said Senior Police Officer David Hughes, who participated in the first installment of the initiative Monday at the crosswalk in the 1500 block of San Jacinto Boulevard. "We weren't here for too long, and we had several -- just flagging them in one after the other."

Officers are trying to educate drivers about the law, which states that when people are crossing the street, they are supposed to yield to traffic before they step into the road.

If the person is already in the crosswalk, vehicles on the same side of the road must stop. Once a person reaches the middle of the crosswalk, vehicles on both sides of the road must stop.

Officers are targeting crosswalks with no flashing lights to remind drivers to stop.

"You can't put flashing lights at every crosswalk," said Officer. "But if you change behavior at those without the lights, you can surely change behavior at those with the lights."

Several drivers who received warnings Monday said the initiative was a good idea because they were not aware of the details of the law.

Pedestrian deaths

Pedestrian crashes have been on the rise. They rose sharply in 2011 citywide.

Some 17 people were killed in auto-pedestrian crashes in Austin in 2011, up from 10 deaths in 2010.

APD has documented 128 intersections citywide that are dangerous for pedestrians -- those with 3 or more accidents since 2008.

Police are being reassigned to the city's most dangerous areas for pedestrians. A new strategy focuses on groups of officers saturating areas where there have been a large number of auto-pedestrian crashes.

Most dangerous intersections for walkers