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Cop Dressed As Gingerbread Man Sets Ticket Trap For Unsuspecting Motorists
Here's a hot tip for you: Don't overlook the rights of a person dressed as a gingerbread man, walking through a crosswalk. Why? Because that person is a decoy, and is out to get you for traffic violations in Moreno Valley.
Yes, some ill-intentioned police officers have set up a trap for drivers in Riverside County. According to the Press-Enterprise, Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Gastinger put on a costume that made him look like a large, delicious cookie, then walked back and forth in a crosswalk to see who would violate his right of way.
Officers were then able to get closer to their ticket quota by citing 20 drivers in 50 minutes, 19 of whom failed to yield to Gastinger.
The law is quite clear when it comes to the rights of pedestrians in crosswalks. According to the DMV website, VC Section 21950 (a) states:
The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
So, there's that.
Most drivers who got pulled over claimed that they didn't see Gastinger, which is a sorry excuse. It's almost impossible to miss a man dressed as a seven-foot tall baked good.
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Unless you were texting. Which is not something you should probably tell officers.
The Gingerbread Man hasn't been run over in pedestrian decoy operation in Moreno Valley. All kids safe too. pic.twitter.com/RL1oZSz7ZH
— Brian Rokos (@Brian_Rokos) September 26, 2013
Justice is swift, sweet in #MorenoValley, where police go undercover as a gingerbread man to enforce traffic laws. pic.twitter.com/UcSjeHI07u
— Brett Kelman (@BrettKelman) September 26, 2013
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