Orange County deputies crack down on drivers failing to yield for pedestrians

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The law is clear. Drivers in Florida must yield, slow down or stop for a pedestrian crossing the road within a crosswalk.

On Wednesday, several drivers across the street from University of Central Florida failed to do just that.

"Its almost ridiculous that people are so much in a hurry that they don't care about the other person's individual safety," Master Deputy Michael Johnson said.

Within the last couple of months, there have been multiple pedestrian-involved crashes near Alafaya Trail and University Boulevard near UCF's campus, which is why deputies on Wednesday conducted a crosswalk crackdown for both drivers and pedestrians.

"What they need to do is if there's a signalized crosswalk, press the button and wait for the signal of saying 'Yes, its time to cross," said Amanda Day, with the Best Foot Forward campaign.

Orange County Sheriff's Deputies pulled over at least eight drivers Wednesday morning and said one driver was taken into custody for driving illegally without a license.

On average in Orange County, two pedestrians are struck by cars daily and one pedestrian is killed each week, according to Best Foot Forward.

Orlando has been ranked as the "most dangerous" region for pedestrians for more than 10 years.

Drivers who fail to yield could face a $164 fine and three points on their driver's licenses.


About the Author

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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