Having been struck by a truck when I was in the crosswalk....YES I do believe drivers need to held more accountable and the police need to fine them. I can count daily the number of cars that do not stop for people on Main St North Andover. On the flip side people also need to use crosswalks instead of just walking across the street in front of cars . Police should be fining those folks as well..........Crosswalks are there for a reason and the rules should be followed. I was very very lucky I wasn't killed because of an arrogant person's ignorance. I still have nightmares of that day!

I've seen a number of drivers try to pass another car who stopped to let a pedestrian cross. People need to slow down and the police need to enforce the traffic laws!

The crosswalk in front of the post office/fire station/police station in Wenham has a pedestrian activated light. Never step foot in that crosswalk until you see the cars have stopped for the red light! Too many times, drivers just don't stop because they are not paying attention. We need to find a way to shock drivers into realizing when they are driving a car, they are really guiding a missile at anything in their path. If they're intent is to not kill anyone, then pay attention.

The elderly man that was killed was crossing in West Peabody, not downtown where the officer monitors the crosswalk. A pedestrian activated red light is needed in some locations, such as downtown on Main St and Lowell St approaching the downtown area. Unfortunately in front of St. Adelaide's isn't busy enough to warrant a red light. Speed traps in that area would be a good idea. People fly up that end of the street because it's rare to see cops doing speed traps there.

Children should be taught how to cross the street. Crossing guards stop traffic for every straggler that comes along. The kids never look up or down the street but just wander across. Dowtown teenagers run back and forth across the street without looking or using a crosswalk. It is foolish to teach children that they have the right to walk in front of a lethal machine.

People are just too distracted when they drive. If you violate the law, you should be held accountable...and that goes for people NOT crossing in crosswalks! On Route 97, they have bicycle paths and a crossing light when someone is crossing. That light notifies a driver well in advance of the crossing area. That would be a good system in these crosswalks with so much traffic.

The law states 'the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be so to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk ...' but a pedestrian should realize that they must, for their safety, wait at the side of the road in the crosswalk area until approaching cars have stopped. A pedestrian should never enter a crosswalk assuming all on coming cars will see them in time to stop. I walk a lot and am always pleasantly surprised how quickly the cars stop for pedestrians in crosswalks waiting to cross.

NO, ITS NOT TIME TO TOUGHEN THE CROSSWALK LAW - THAT WILL DO NOTHING since it won't be enforced.

You should better enforce the current law. And if there's a jaywalking problem, that should be enforced. I have never heard of anyone getting fined nor have I ever seen anyone being stopped.

how about this the people crossing the street should pay attention and make sure all the cars are stopped.

My heart goes out to the family of that poor man in Peabody...truly a tragedy! That being said...as much as drivers are supposed to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk, pedestrians need to be take care when in the road. I was hit by a car in the 80's while crossing the street and the authorities told me it was my fault....remember those days....personal accountability! I am in no way placing blame on the man who just lost his life. I am however pointing a finger at those that feel like a crosswalk is an impenetrable force field that provides any physical protection. Bottom line...drivers, pay attention and yield to pedestrians, and pedestrians...look both ways before crossing and be mindful of oncoming traffic!

Stop allowing parking spaces to block crosswalks. In Salem near the Library on Essex St you can't see the pedestrians due to parked cars the same thing on Norman st near the hancock building and 7/11.

I do try to pat close attention to the traffic laws concerning crosswalks and do stop for a pedestrian waiting to cross legally, as both parties, myself and the pedestrian are both following the proper protocol.
That, however, in today's society the exception and most pedestrians are quite lax, when it comes to their personal responsibility. I see pedestrians begin crossing busy controlled intersections with properly working signage, without realizing they are crossing on the green arrow for vehicles, that have a small window of time to make a left turn,and cannot, as the pedestrian is out of sync with the system. The vehicle, loses their right of way and must sit through the entire sequence of the traffic signals to return to his arrow.
These occurrences further exasperate the congestion of the traffic lanes and make the tedious commute through our busy streets longer. The problem is as much the driving public rushing to get to and from jobs, and the clueless pedestrian, who pays no attention, with life and limb at stake.
The problem is systemic and will take years to undo the mind(less) set of all involved,by not being invested in public safety. In the end it begins with all of us and our callousness,carelessness, and cluelessness!

Yes, I feel more should be done to make people Very Aware of how often people are injured and the fatalities that come from people just "crossing the street." I feel it's the responsibility of the driver as well as the pedestrian. Drivers should give pedestrians on the crosswalks the right of way and the pedestrians should always look carefully before crossing. Cause there will always be careless drivers not paying attention. And for those pedestrians that just walk out in the street without the crosswalks well, they have guts doing that in this city. People just need to be Aware!!!

I agree that there are a lot of jerk drivers who don't yield at crosswalks, but there are also a lot of idiot pedestrians also. I saw a jogger a couple of weeks ago in Danvers Square jog up to the light and cross against the green traffic light and the Don't Walk sign. Two lanes of traffic had to come to a screeching halt and honk at him and he just yelled "Crosswalk" like he assumed he had right of way. Unfortunately, the assumption that a person in a crosswalk always has right of way is FALSE!!! Mass General Law Chapter 89 section 11 states

"When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be so to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk marked in accordance with standards established by the department of highways if the pedestrian is on that half of the traveled part of the way on which the vehicle is traveling or if the pedestrian approaches from the opposite half of the traveled part of the way to within 10 feet of that half of the traveled part of the way on which said vehicle is traveling."

So, the thing to remember is that if there's a working light at the crosswalk, the pedestrian does NOT have right of way. He/she must obey the traffic light just like the automobile traffic must.

Enforce the current laws on crosswalks. Also enforce the laws on: Stopping at stop signs, red lights, blocking intersections, using turn signals, speeding. Not sure what the jaywalking fine is either, and Im sure its rarely enforced, but pedestrians run out into the streets all too often in Salem. The drivers and pedestrians in this city seem to be the most distracted, irresponsible, and uncourteous in the state.

The last time I saw someone get ticketed for jaywalking was in 1978, in San Francisco. I would LOVE to see some enforcement of jaywalking laws - perhaps the fines collected could go towards a public awareness program to prevent further jaywalking.

Daily, in my short commute through Salem, some nimrod pops out from between parked cars and steps out into traffic. Having the 'right of way' doesn't make one superhuman and impervious to harm.

Sometimes the Me First culture is just darn dangerous; I was once rear-ended because I stopped for a pedestrian IN A CROSS WALK, luckily my car and the pedestrian were fine.
Also, during my commute, I sometimes have to cross Derby Street on foot. I've lost count of how many times a kind soul has stopped to let me cross only to be overtaken (or in one case, undertaken) by someone in a hurry. Scary!

A pedestrian struck by a car is a tragedy! However, the answer to the question about increasing the fine depends on whether your goal is punishment, or saving lives. There should be a shared sense of responsibility for a person on foot getting across a busy street. Sometimes I question whether crosswalks may have the unintended consequence of causing more accidents, by giving pedestrians a naive sense of security. Pedestrians need to be cognizant of the fact that those stripes painted on the road do not afford them any physical protection from cars! And no matter how careful they try to be, it can be easy (especially at an intersection with a lot of moving objects) for drivers to "miss" the fact that a pedestrian has just stepped into their path. In my experience (as a driver and a pedestrian), virtually all drivers try to do the right thing, and an increased fine might just encourage pedestrians to take even more chances.

as i said yesterday in reference to the poor old man who was struck on Lowell Street last weekend and has since passed away - i honestly believe that in high pedestrian areas, they should install rumble strips and/or speedbumps within 20 feet of the crosswalk. it will slow the drivers down in time for anyone who may be crossing the street, and slow traffic. as a resident of Lowell Street, i see vehicles driving 20 MPH or greater in excess of the speed limit. It is very dangerous and because police are dealing with other idiots in the city, they are unable to be everywhere to catch every violator.

Just yesterday, I stopped in front of the Customs House on Derby Street to let a couple cross the street. There is one of those "state law...stop for pedestrians" signs in the road.
Mr. Asshole in a ginormous truck screeches within inches of my rear bumper & starts beeping his horn continuously.
I'm not sure why, but I put my car in park & got out, walked up to his window & screamed, "what did you want me to do? hit them?"
He sped around me going down Derby Street like it was Rt. 1.
Nice, huh?

The first key to all of this is what is really the law now...for everyone. I see a couple quoted above. I definitely believe you should stop a car for someone in a crosswalk but for sure the pedestrian should also have to stop before entering the crosswalk (I know that's not the law). So often near schools you see a pedestrian (usually child) walk into the crosswalk expecting the cars to stop due to the law and continue to stride across the street without looking - often while wearing headphones. Personal responsibility is a key. I am not saying anyone that has been hit was at fault but as I tell my kids and their friends all the time, if you are crossing the street it doesn't matter if you are in the right and the car that hits you is in the wrong if you get hurt or killed in the process.
Also downtown Andover by the library the intersection is totally messed up. It gives pedestrian a go walk sign to cross main street WHILE it also gives the cars on the crossing street a green arrow to turn into that crosswalk. My daughter literally had to get pushed out of the way of a car that turned into her when she had a walk sign.
Editor, there are two notes about the actual law in these comments. I think we would all welcome a clear understanding of the law from you or a police department Specifically differentiating the law of the crosswalk at a controlled light intersection and one without lights. And also when a car should stop on a wide/divide road.
THANKS

If you go to Logan Airport they have flashing bright blinking lights imbedded in the cross walk unless you are blind and idiot or just don't care you will stop at the cross walk. they could run off a solar panel and activate as soon as you step into the cross walk. What have they done to the area where Allie was killed ? Absolutely nothing. I'm sure they spent thousands studying the problem. But that's all they ever do.
Not even brighter lights in the area, the orange barriers look nice !! I'm driving in town all day because of my job. Driver's are rude in a hurry and don't give a damn if you want to cross the street or not. I alway's like to count how many cars go by while i'm standing in the cross walk or trying to pull out into traffic. One time it was thirty seven !! An affluent town with a whole bunch of people who think they are privilaged or entitled. The hell with everyone else get out of my way !!

Andover is the worst for violating the crosswalk laws. You take your life in your hands every time you cross the street on Stevens street, Central Street near the Library, Essex Street and no. main street. Some violations occur because the lines are worn and drivers do not pay attention to the posted signs. When a driver stops in the left turn lane at the post office and a pedestrian crosses, the driver on the right usually does not slow down, leaving the pedestrian in the middle of the street. The other crosswalk on Stevens, near the post office also has a posted sign but is out of view to those rounding the bend. Post an officer at these streets at various times and start giving out tickets to violators. All I ever see is chasing parking violators and speeders.