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Friday, April 20, 2018

Baltimore Mayor Announces ‘Don’t Block The Box’ Traffic Safety Program

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A new traffic law kicks in next month that may change driving habits in Baltimore.

The new city traffic safety campaign, “Don’t block the box,” means if drivers are blocking an intersection after the light turns red, you can be cited.

Cars stuck in the intersection can cause congestion and confusion as other drivers try to get around them, and it poses a hazard for pedestrians.

“Thirty-two percent of all statewide pedestrian involved crashes occur right here in the City of Baltimore,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said.

As part of a comprehensive traffic safety campaign, blocking the box will be a traffic violation with a $90 ticket and one point on your license.

“We really want people to understand it’s not that we want to ticket, we want the traffic to move safely, we want pedestrians to be able to cross safely through intersections, we want bikes to travel safely, we want buses to be on time. All of this goes into how we operate in the infrastructure,” Baltimore Transportation Department Director Michelle Pourciau said.

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

New Law? Well silly me I thought it was already a law and common sense. In essence if you are not clear of the intersection and the light turns red than you ran the red light.

Anonymous said...

I wish OC would implement this so their buses could get out of the terminal on busy weekends. Never mind it would generate a ton of revenue.

Anonymous said...

This will make the city safer

Anonymous said...

Where does Baltimore City get the authority to make the Maryland DMV issue 1 point on your license?

Anonymous said...

Traffic backs up in the city. Impatient people pull into intersection and light changes before they can drive forward out of intersection. Then the cross traffic is blocked leading to more congestion. Kinda like the bornheres that insist on tailgating you when you are driving 5 miles over the limit but they aren't smart enough to leave ata time to get to work on time so the must drive 65+ on 50 mph road. Impatient and inconsiderate.

LastMohican said...

How do you know it's the"bornheres" or only that select group that tailgates? I have been complaining about tailgaters and other bad driving habits for years. To no avail. Everywhere you can go you will find these types of drivers and the same lack of enforcement. Speeding seems to be the only violation police target and only then by hiding from sight. And which they are also guilty of doing also. They want the quick ticket, quick conviction, and quick buck. I might also add if someone is being tailgated in the left lane, they are wrong. Move the heck over

Anonymous said...

Pugh states that her city has a disproportionate number of pedestrian related accidents. Could it be- just maybe- that a certain group of people- a large percentage who live in Baltimore- refuse to use crosswalks.