Map: Pedestrian Strikes in 2013

Since the beginning of the year, 15 pedestrians have been struck crossing streets in Fort Lee, leading to a crackdown by police on drivers failing to yield at crosswalks and pedestrians failing to use them properly.

The police department's "Cops in the Crosswalk" campaign, led by Deputy Chief Tim Ford, has placed "decoy" pedestrians at crossings and ticketed hundreds this year in an effort to improve safety at street crossings.

Since a high of seven in January, the number of accidents has seen a steady month-by-month decline, with five in February, two in March, and only one so far in April. One strike in February led to a fatality.

Police chief Keith Bendul said that though it's still unclear whether the decline is an indication that the campaign is working, he is "optimistic" that it is having an effect.

"One month is not enough to base any kind of results on," he said. "I'm happy that we've only had one so far this month but my goal is to get zero for a month and then start stringing months of nobody being struck together."

He said that in addition to issuing summonses, which carry a $230 fine, to drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, the department has also been issuing tickets for jaywalking.

The pedestrian strikes have clustered around Main Street and Lemoine Avenue, along Main Street business district the route to the George Washington Bridge.

Bendul says that though the campaign has so far placed officers on Anderson Avenue and Hudson Terrace, it will run borough-wide at different times of day until the problem of pedestrian strikes is eliminated.

"This is going to continue to be a priority as long as I'm chief," he said, "and as long as we have pedestrians being struck."