Chatham Borough Cracking Down On Speeding Near School Crosswalks

CHATHAM, NJ — Chatham Borough police will be cracking down on cars speeding through school crosswalks, the Borough of Chatham Council announced on Monday night.

"There have been instances when crossing guards go out and hold up the sign and people blow right through it," council member Jim Collander said, citing some issues at crosswalks recently. "There are kids crossing on these roads. Oftentimes cars come up at a high speed, get to a screeching halt right before the crossing guard."

Collander, the chairman of the traffic and safety advisory committee, said that police would take a no tolerance approach to drivers near crosswalks: "No warnings and that means the maximum penalty we can levy on anybody caught conducting themselves in this manner."

Under New Jersey state law, drivers must come to a complete stop whenever a pedestrian is in the crosswalk, even if the pedestrian is on the other side of the street. The maximum penalty is up to two points on your license, a $200 fine, 15 days community service, and insurance surcharges.

Pedestrians must also follow all laws and signals, and can face a $54 fine for failing to do so.

According to the state government, the strict laws are in response to New Jersey's "disproportionate number of pedestrian injury crashes and fatalities compared to the nation as a whole."

Patch has reached out to Chatham Borough police to find out when this crackdown would begin, and how many tickets have been written near crosswalks since school began. We'll update this article as soon as we hear back.

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