Sudbury police handing out $2 coffee cards to people spotted using a cross walks

Would you skip jaywalking for a shot at a free coffee? Police in Sudbury say you could earn a free coffee card by simply using a cross walk. 

Greater Sudbury Police Staff Sergeant Rick Waugh said instead of finger wagging, police are trying to get creative as part of a new pedestrian safety campaign. 

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If an officer spots you making the effort to use a crosswalk this month, you could be handed a $2 Tim Hortons coffee card for your effort. 

This, as Sudbury police wrestle with how to keep pedestrians safe. 

Waugh said 62 people were hit by vehicles in 2015. That's down from 71 vehicle and pedestrian collisions the year before.   

Waugh said last year, officers laid charges against 14 drivers and five pedestrians — but he said it's hard to know what exactly happened in most cases.

"We have the story from the driver or the account of what happened, we have the account from the pedestrian, and we don't have any independent witnesses or video that could help us decipher or decide as to who is at fault here or who is responsible for this collision," he said.

Police are hoping that this positive reinforcement strategy for good road safety conduct will help to keep the accident numbers down.    

This campaign runs for the month of January, and will be brought back in the latter part of the year, when pedestrian and vehicle crashes in Sudbury are statistically more prevalent. 

"You know one of the things we've kind of learned is the effects of Daylight Savings Time," said Waugh of the trend. "When we looked at our stats, traditionally the months of October, November and December seem to be high numbers across the board for us."