BRODHEAD — Over one-third of drivers failed to yield to a pedestrian at a Brodhead intersection during four hours of police observation on a recent Friday afternoon.

Out of 114 drivers, 32 failed to yield the right-of-way. Of these, 19 were stopped by police for the traffic offense.

Only one driver was cited, “after nearly striking the pedestrian,” according to Brodhead Chief of Police Chris Hughes. Fines for violating pedestrian safety laws range from $150 to $326, in addition to a potential 4 points off the offender’s driver’s license.

Officers conducted the four-hour pedestrian safety enforcement Aug. 16 on 1st Center Avenue at 21st Street, Hughes reported.

A member of the police department wearing a pink florescent T-shirt crossed the street in the marked crosswalk that has pedestrian warning signage. Meanwhile, an officer monitored traffic and notified a second officer in a marked police car to make contact with any driver who failed to stop for the pedestrian.

Police handed out gift certificates for Brodhead’s Kwik Trip, Subway and Stop-N-Go to some of the drivers who followed the law and stopped for the pedestrian. The traffic safety deployment was made possible through grant funding from the Wisconsin Bureau of Traffic Safety, according to Hughes.

Police in Brodhead “continually” get complaints from citizens of motorists failing to stop for pedestrians, especially at this intersection, Hughes said in a release about the deployment. He cited Wisconsin Department of Transportation traffic crash data — so far in 2019, 28 pedestrians have been killed statewide, already surpassing the 23 pedestrians who died in all of 2018.