Watch out, jaywalkers. Other than, you know, the danger of getting run over, crossing the road unlawfully in the next few days could see you getting slapped with a summons from the five-oh. (Not that we ever recommend you flout traffic rules, obvs.)
From tomorrow (Dec. 9) until next Tuesday (Dec. 13), police will be cracking down on jaywalkers across the territory as part of a “pedestrian safety operation”, in an effort to curb traffic accidents.
Police said in a statement that pedestrians who are caught “blatantly” jaywalking (as opposed to subtly?!) or committing any other serious traffic offences will be issued with a summons.
Some common pedestrian offences detailed in the statement included disobeying traffic lights, walking across the road within 15 metres of a pedestrian crossing (and not using said crossing), climbing over a kerbside fence and walking through a central reservation onto a carriageway.
So that means no drunkenly launching yourself over the planters on the middle of Lockhart Road (if you don’t think this is worth addressing, you clearly haven’t been to a Wan Chai Wednesday).
Police officers from the regional Road Safety Teams have already distributed leaflets around various locations to “enhance pedestrians’ road safety awareness” and urge the public to comply with road traffic regulations.
Yeah, because that’s why people jaywalk. They just haven’t seen a good enough leaflet.
Offenders may be liable to a HKD2,000 fine, which we’re sure we can all agree is way more hassle than a five-second shortcut is worth.
Earlier this year, police carried a week-long operation targeting parking violations – specifically double-parking and stopping in restricted zones – which led to this very dramatic arrest.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to include information about a previous police operation.
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