KIRO NEWSRADIO

Luke Burbank tests crosswalk safety

Sep 26, 2012, 9:01 AM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 1:07 pm

Crossing the street in Redmond has turned into risky business at some intersections, so the cops are cracking down.

Police were out in force Tuesday, handing out tickets to drivers who failed to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, KING 5 reports.

They issued 29 $124 tickets during the two-hour emphasis patrol.

Are drivers rude or oblivious in other cities? KIRO co-host Luke Burbank decided to put a Seattle intersection to the test in a very unscientific sample.

It didn’t take long to see a truck driver blow through a crosswalk on Eastlake Avenue outside the KIRO studios with a pedestrian about to cross.

“Oh wow, a guy waiting across the street he was about to cross and somebody driving an Enterprise commercial truck, a big one, like a container truck, just went blazing past him. What I noticed was the guy driving this big truck was on his cell phone typing something in,” Luke says.

That mirrors what police experienced in Redmond, where a third of the drivers they busted were also cited for cell phone violations.

As for Luke’s experiment, cars stopped during each of his four trips across the street. The survey was slightly skewed, however. Most seemed to be listening live to Ross and Burbank.

Including listener Cheryl, who wrote in. She is one of the drivers that stopped for Luke.

Hey guys,

I am the person who stopped “four blocks away” for Luke. Actually, I stopped at the beginning of the intersection for me, so as to allow Luke to cross, but to also to allow any potential left turning traffic from my right while stopped. As a person who has been hit by a car while crossing, I am very attentive to pedestrians, whether it be at the crosswalk or before. Yes I am a morning listener and enjoy your show. Although this exercise was indeed skewed because of listeners, it clearly also indicated that there are drivers out there that are not attentive to pedestrians. Your exercise this morning is a good reminder to all drivers. It’s just too bad it sometimes takes a ticket from an officer or worse to learn a lesson.

-Cheryl, in North Bend

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Luke Burbank tests crosswalk safety