Deputies Are Watching Monday. Here’s What They’re Looking For

As you plan your week ahead, take note the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is running a bike and pedestrian safety operation in West Hollywood on Monday, March 23, from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cops will be out looking for speeders, drivers making illegal turns, anyone who’s failing to yield to people on foot or on bikes, and drivers who aren’t stopping at signs and signals. Obviously, you should pay attention every day, but if wanna avoid adding a bummer to the start of your week, pay extra attention to the people you share the road with.

It’s coming about a month after the sheriff’s annual traffic report showed 991 crash investigations in West Hollywood in 2025, which was up 30% from 762 the year before. Pedestrians being hit by cars climbed from 54 to 82. Fatal collisions doubled, from two to four. Hit-and-runs reached 211. DUI-related crashes were up 76%.

Santa Monica Boulevard led the city with 251 collisions and 90 injuries. No surprise, Fountain Avenue wasn’t far behind, recording 109 collisions and 51 injuries.

Councilmembers went through the numbers at a February 17th council meeting and called it a public safety crisis. The session was informational only. No directives came out of it.

Monday’s operation is part of an ongoing LASD effort targeting what deputies say puts pedestrians and cyclists at the most risk.

Knowing that DMV handbook and the rules of the road are but a distant memory, here’s a refresh of the relevant provisions from the California Vehicle Code: What California Law Requires

• Yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks (CVC 21950): Drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing at any marked or unmarked crosswalk. A crosswalk legally exists at every intersection whether painted or not. Drivers must slow or stop as needed and cannot pass a vehicle that has already stopped for a pedestrian.
• Turning while a pedestrian is in the crosswalk (CVC 21950): Drivers must wait until the pedestrian has fully cleared the driver’s half of the roadway before proceeding — not just until they seem far enough away. On a four-lane road that means past the center line. On a two-lane road that means all the way across. Even after they’ve cleared your half, the due care requirement still applies. If a deputy judges the pedestrian was close enough to constitute a hazard when you moved, that’s a citation. You cannot go before them which trips everyone up.
• Pedestrian waiting at the curb (CVC 21950): If a pedestrian is standing at the curb and clearly intending to cross, drivers are required to stop and allow them to enter the crosswalk. Waiting until they step off the curb first is not enough.
• Right turn on red (CVC 21453): Drivers may turn right on red only after making a complete stop — no rolling stops — and must yield to pedestrians in the adjacent crosswalk before turning. The pedestrian has the right of way. The green light does not change this.
• Do not pass a stopped vehicle at a crosswalk (CVC 21950): If a vehicle ahead has stopped to let a pedestrian cross, drivers behind it cannot go around. The pedestrian may not be visible from behind the stopped car — that’s exactly the scenario that kills people.
• Cyclists have the same road rights as drivers (CVC 21200): Cyclists are owed the same right of way as any vehicle. Drivers must yield to them accordingly and cannot cut them off, crowd them, or fail to stop for them at signals and signs.
• Three-foot passing rule for cyclists (CVC 21760): When passing a cyclist, drivers must give at least three feet of clearance. If three feet isn’t possible, drivers must slow to a safe speed and wait until they can pass without endangering the rider.
• Proper turns (CVC 22100): Right turns must be made from as close to the right curb as possible. Left turns must be made from the far left lane. Turns made from the wrong position are illegal and carry a fine plus a DMV point.
• Blocking a crosswalk (CVC 21970): Drivers cannot stop in a crosswalk and block it — including while waiting to make a turn. Stop behind the limit line, not in it.
• Driving across a sidewalk (CVC 21952): When pulling out of a driveway or alley and crossing a sidewalk, drivers must stop and yield to any pedestrian on the sidewalk before proceeding. The sidewalk is the pedestrian’s right of way.