SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — To help curb the trends when it comes to pedestrians being hit and even killed by cars, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office has a new initiative this week to help monitor dangerous intersections.
7 Action News went on a ride-along to see just how the initiative works.
Deputy Jeremy Warner has been with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Division for two years. He's made all kinds of stops in his career. But this week is more about education and safety.
"I'd rather have a conversation with them, talk to them about everything," Warner said. “I do see a lot of people running across the street all the time.”
The $40,000 state-funded grant pays deputies overtime this week, a few hours before and after their shifts, to patrol dangerous intersections as identified by the Michigan State Police's Office of Highway Safety Planning.
Those intersections include parts of Warren and Mount Clemens on North Avenue and Hall Road, 8 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue and 16 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue.
Just this week, a woman was hit by a car and seriously injured in the early morning hours on Tuesday on North Avenue and Hall Road.
Bill Cooper works in the area putting up billboards. He says he sees just how careless both drivers and jaywalkers can sometimes be.
“People come flying through here all the time," he said. “The perfect storm is when the guy's walking across the street texting and the guy's driving down the road texting on a road that has 60,000 cars a day.”
According to MSP, Macomb County has had 60 pedestrian deaths from 2018 to 2022 and ranks third worst county in the state when it comes to these types of instances.
Statewide from 2020 to 2022, a total of 531 pedestrians were killed. That's an increase of 17% over the previous three-year period.
That’s where this initiative comes in.
“It’s totally avoidable," Sgt. Kenneth Rumps with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said. “We’re out there not only just to enforce and write tickets but to educate.”
On our ride-along with Warner, we caught two jaywalkers and a distracted driver within one hour down Gratiot in Mount Clemens. He gave out two warnings and a ticket for distracted driving in the hopes that it helps the people in the area pay attention and drive safe.
The initiative continues through Friday and there’s enough funding in the grant to do a few of these throughout next year as well.
