Safety of pedestrians and bicyclists remains a ‘huge priority,’ Merced police chief says

More than a dozen pedestrians have been struck and killed by vehicles in Merced since 2021, according to Merced Police Department data.

Merced Police Department crime analyst Lance Eber said in 2021, five of the 11 total vehicle crash fatalities in the city were pedestrians. In 2022, four of the 11 total vehicle crash fatalities accounted for pedestrian deaths while in 2023 four of the seven total vehicle crash fatalities were pedestrian deaths.

According to Eber, there have been two vehicle vs pedestrian deaths and one vehicle vs. bicyclist death recorded in the city for the 2024 calendar year through the month of March. In total, the police department has recorded 32 traffic deaths in the city since January of 2021, with years 2021 and 2022 seeing the highest number of traffic fatalities with a total of 11 each years.

Through April of this year, the city has already recorded 50% of the total vehicle vs pedestrian deaths that were recorded in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Merced Police Chief Steven Stanfield said the city has seen a slight reduction in calls of accidents with injuries during the first three months of 2024 compared to the last three months of 2023.

The department has also seen 43 fewer collision injuries during the first three months of 2024 compared to the same time frame in 2023. The first three months of 2023 saw 118 reported collisions compared to 75 in the first three months of 2024.

According to Stanfield, three of those collisions this year have been fatalities. But, not all calls that are reported as collisions are actual collisions. In 2023, there were 251 reported collisions during the first three months of the year compared to 226 over the same time period in 2024.

Stanfield said that since the department has started to be more aggressive with traffic enforcement and collection of collision data, the agency has seen a reduction in collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists.

Police chief wants focus on bicyclist, pedestrian safety

Stanfield said the department’s hope is to see more of the trend in reduction of collisions with pedestrians, and to make sure the department is on top of this before the summer months when even more pedestrians and bicyclists are out in the city.

“This is definitely something that we are continuing to pay attention about and we really want to be better about is addressing bicyclist and pedestrian safety in our town,” said Stanfield.

Stanfield said he would like to see more bicycle officers on patrol especially around schools and that is something the police department is currently working on. He would like to see something such as a bike safety day during the summer or in the fall leading into next school year. He envisions the event will include instructions on overall bike safety, possibly the distribution of bike helmets to children as well as discussions with parents about various forms of bike safety, such as cautiously walking bikes through crosswalks.

According to Stanfield, at times he has witnessed pedestrians walking out into traffic without looking, walking through center medians, bicyclists riding the wrong way in the street or darting across red lights as well as a general disregard for safety.

“We as bicyclists and pedestrians have to remember that too, rarely does a pedestrian or a bicycle win against a vehicle. The vehicle is always going to win,” Stanfield said. “You have to be a little bit attentive and you have to be aggressive when you’re out walking to look for traffic, make sure that its’ safe and cross the street only when it’s safe to do so. Ride your bike in lanes that are designated bike lanes.”

Bicyclists and pedestrians need to make sure they are taking all necessary precautions to ensure their own safety, according to Stanfield. The onus is not all on pedestrians and bicyclists as motorists also need to pay attention when driving through the city streets.

“I think one of the things we need to address is inattentiveness to driving,” said Stanfield. “Putting our phones down and making sure that we’re realizing that we’re driving a several thousand pound machine that can be extremely dangerous if driven the wrong way,” said Stanfield.

Additionally, motorist need to make sure they are not using smartphones while driving and paying full attention to the roadway and their surroundings, according to Stanfield. The city could see bike teams out in the downtown and Bear Creek area engaging the public, educating and attending events as well as just being present throughout the city demonstrating bicycle safety as part of their duties.

Some things pedestrians and bicyclists can do to keep themselves safe when navigating the city is to remain inside crosswalks, make sure headphones do not interfere with the ability to hear surroundings and to remember that you are the most valuable thing on the road, according to Stanfield.

Merced now has three traffic officers

Pedestrians and bicyclists at night should make sure to have proper lighting, reflectors and to avoid wearing dark clothing. Motorists should watch for bicyclists and pedestrians and never assume they are going to stop. Motorists should make sure they yield to pedestrians, according to Stanfield.

Additional traffic officers will also be added to the department’s traffic unit and motorcycle traffic unit, according to Stanfield. When stepping into his role as chief, Stanfield said the department had one traffic officer. Stanfield said the department currently has three traffic officers with an auxiliary unit of five more for a total functional unit of about eight, with plans to add additional traffic officers.

Those officers can serve citizens by performing traffic safety as well as educating children at area schools.

“The safety of our roads, the safety of our pedestrians, the safety of our bicyclists that should be a huge priority for the department, it is for me,” said Stanfield.