Cops crack down on common road rule Aussies break all the time
<p>It’s a minor offence but technically if you don’t cross the road at a pedestrian crossing or when the man turns green at a traffic light, you’re breaking the law.</p>
<p>It is a law that is rarely enforced, but police have recently cracked down on minor traffic offences. </p>
<p>A recent blitz in Sydney’s CBD saw cops issue more than 350 fines to pedestrians and cyclists who broke basic road rules on Monday. Police fined 94 pedestrians for jaywalking and 148 cyclists for a range of offences including disobeying traffic lights and riding on the footpath.</p>
<p>In NSW, a fine for jaywalking is $75 and cyclist fines range from $112 to $448.</p>
<p>Dubbed Operation Pedro, the crackdown is in response to a recent spate of fatal crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians. Six cyclists and 44 pedestrians have died on NSW roads as of July this year.</p>
<p>“We have been conducting Operation Pedro since 2014 as a way of educating the community about the importance of all road users doing the right thing,” Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander Michael Corboy said.</p>
<p>“This should come as a reminder for everyone to take personal responsibility for their actions on the road.</p>
<p>“City traffic is full of many challenges and distractions for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, so we want to do everything possible to ensure that we reduce road trauma.”</p>
<p>Last month, Brisbane City Council introduced video surveillance cameras in busy CBD intersections as part of a major review to improve pedestrian safety, after several accidents involving pedestrians early this year.</p>
<p> “I think we all need to remember to pay attention to the environment that we’re in, we need to be taught how to cross the road safely as children, we need to also to continue to remember to be looking around, we’ve got electric vehicles on the road now, they’re very, very quiet vehicles – almost silent,” Brisbane City Council Infrastructure chairwoman Amanda Cooper told the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/cameras-to-study-jaywalkers-brisbane-cbd-to-improve-safety/10055058">ABC</a>.</p>
<p>“People need to be paying attention; not just listening for traffic but looking for traffic as well,” Ms Cooper said.</p>
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