ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Law enforcement officials across Orange County are cracking down on drivers not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.
As part of Operation Best Foot Forward, Orlando Police and the Orange County Sheriff's Office targeted six intersections Wednesday, including a crosswalk near Pine Hills Road and El Trio Way.
"Sometimes people aren't crossing in crosswalks, which they need to be using," Master Deputy Robert Graham said. "But even in crosswalks, sometimes we have pedestrians getting hit."
Drivers violating the pedestrian yield law are subject to a $164 citation and three points on their driver's license.
More than a dozen tickets were written in Pine Hills during the one-hour crackdown Wednesday morning.
"She just wasn't slowing down and cut around and potentially would have hit me if I hadn't jumped out of the road and off the crosswalk," Graham said of one driver, who was pulled over.
According to Operation Best Foot Forward, since 2012, yield rates have increased as much as 63 percent on roads targeted by the program.
"It's real important that we get out here and inform the drivers, as well as pedestrians, what their rights are as far as when it comes to pedestrians and bicyclists," Commissioner Bryan Nelson said.
While driver education seems to be increasing, deputies said there's still a long way to go.
"Getting people to stop would be better than having to pull people over and write them citations," Graham said.