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Orange County

Best Foot Forward: Orange County Sheriff's Office cracks down on crosswalk violations

At Apopka-Vineland Road and 1st Street, OCSO made 75 stops and issued 59 pedestrian citations, 3 speeding citations, 13 warnings, 1 criminal violation, and 21 other citations

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According to its website, Best Foot Forward was created to reverse the conflict between pedestrians and drivers by focusing on one specific behavior change – getting more drivers to yield for pedestrians at marked crosswalks as Florida law requires.

More than a campaign, Best Foot Forward is a behavior change-based program designed to improve road safety through consistent and persistent education, high-visibility crosswalk enforcement and low-cost engineering at marked crosswalks near elementary schools and LYNX bus stops, in urban areas and cross-sections of low and high-speed roads.

So, how does Best Foot Forward do that?

Overview of Best Foot Forward

The Best Foot Forward campaign targets both pedestrians and drivers. For pedestrians, the focus is on working adults, the elderly and children. Working adults are walking to bus stops and crossing busy streets to travel to work. As for the elderly and children, they are vulnerable because they have difficulty estimating the speed and distance of oncoming cars, especially at night.

Best Foot Forward works with local public and private schools, assisted living facilities, businesses, homeowners’ associations, clubs and LYNX to educate the targeted groups. At outreach presentations and events, local law enforcement and safety advocates can speak to seniors, working adults and children about special considerations when walking.

To target drivers, law enforcement will stop drivers who fail to yield for pedestrians at crosswalks.  Media events are coordinated to film enforcement operations to promote a broader awareness, and public officials often attend enforcement operations as well.  Communication tools such as social media, videos, public service announcements, speaking engagements and community events aim to keep pedestrian safety top of mind for Central Floridians.

BFF on Apopka-Vineland

On April 9th, the Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety coalition and Orange County Sheriff's Office conducted a crosswalk enforcement operation at Apopka-Vineland Rd & 1st St and Apopka-Vineland Rd & Kilgore Rd. These crosswalks have very low pedestrian yield rates: 8% and 3%, respectively.
 
At Apopka-Vineland Road and 1st Street, law enforcement made 75 stops and issued 59 pedestrian citations, 3 speeding citations, 13 warnings, 1 criminal violation, and 21 other citations.
 
Every quarter, Best Foot Forward and local law enforcement agencies choose crosswalks throughout Central Florida to participate in Operation Best Foot Forward. However, when there is an exceptional need, like these two intersections with very low yield rates, a pop-up operation is sometimes conducted. 
 
The goal of the enforcement is to positively impact both driver and pedestrian behavior to make the roadways safer for everyone. 
Best Foot Forward, Crosswalk Safety, Pedestrian, Apopka-Vineland Road, How safe are Orange County Crosswalks?

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