SCOTT GULLEDGE / Scroll Photo Illustration

Police crack down on jaywalking, not yielding

David Sheppard SHE04015@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Rexburg police said they are currently watching the roadways and giving out warnings and citations to pedestrians for jaywalking, specifically targeting the problem area of the BYU-Idaho campus.

“The main problem is the students around BYU-I,” said Capt. Randy Lewis of the Rexburg Police Department. “But are there other areas? Absolutely!”

The Rexburg Police are periodically cracking down on jaywalkers in what they call “selective enforcement” to help remind students to be safer on the roads. Also, most new students don’t know about the jaywalking laws, Lewis said.

The jaywalking ordinance, Rexburg City Ordinance No. 867, was originally passed in April 2002 in an attempt to deal with the constant complaints from motorists of BYU-I students darting in front of traffic and causing potentially fatal accidents, Lewis said.

According to the ordinance, upon receiving a citation a jaywalker can expect to pay a fine of $25.

“Our main goal is not to write tickets,” Lewis said. “We have written a few [citations] to get people into the habit of using the crosswalks.”

There have been a number of fatalities in the past near the BYU-I campus, Lewis said. “A girl was killed cutting out between cars near the intersection of 2nd East and 4th South, [and] a student was killed near the boys dorms at Viking and Center,” he said.

Pedestrians are not the only ones being targeted. The police department is also citing drivers caught not stopping for pedestrians at designated crosswalks. “It’s a dual thing,” Lewis said. “We’re working on both areas.”

It is a traffic misdemeanor for drivers not to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks and will cost $62 for the violation. For this offense, there is no warning, the driver receives an automatic citation, Lewis said.

According to Section V of the ordinance, if there are no designated crossings within 500 feet of the point at which a crossing occurred, you are not in violation of the law.

However, you won’t find many places in Rexburg where this section would apply, Lewis said.

Soon after the ordinance was passed, some students painted their own crosswalk lines on 1st West in an attempt to avoid receiving citations. The students were never caught for the vandalism, but self-made crosswalks are not a valid traffic flow device.

If there is ever a problem with a city crosswalk, students can call the police department at 359-3008 to remedy the problem, Lewis said.