Watch for Pedestrians in Downtown Clayton

Motorists are being urged to watch for pedestrians in downtown Clayton.  Many of these are visitors to the City and they are unfamiliar with traffic patterns, says Clayton Police Chief Andy Strait.  “The downtown area is still very lively and active.  We are focusing some efforts downtown on the u-turns.  We ask folks to be mindful of the traffic laws when you are in the downtown area.  Watch out for pedestrians in the crosswalks.  Be ever mindful that there are people trying to cross the street and yes sometimes they don’t necessarily cross at the crosswalks.  We have folks from out of town that are just enthralled in shopping and looking around and they just step out in the road.  Yes, they are wrong to do that but still, when you are in a vehicle and you hit a pedestrian, chances are that someone is going to get injured.  Be mindful of the crosswalks, we are enforcing the crosswalks and the u-turns downtown and have written several citations.  We are going to continue doing that.”  In Georgia, the fine for not crossing at a crosswalk is $300.  According to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, motorists must stop and stay stopped for pedestrians at crosswalks. Drivers must stay put until the pedestrian has vacated the driver’s side of the road.