Why Did This Duck Cross The Road?

This Halloween in Fort Lee, New Jersey, cops got a little... creative in an attempt to catch drivers disregarding crosswalk laws. A Fort Lee cop donned a Donald Duck costume and attempted to cross a busy street at a crosswalk with yellow blinking lights. Dozens of drivers bypassed the 6''4 duck, and were promptly pulled over and ticketed for $230.

Most of the drivers didn't even let Disney's favorite duck cross the street, and some even drove around him as he was standing in the middle of the crosswalk. Which is a pretty scary thought for those of us who walk as part of our day-to-day commute. The Fort Lee police chief told ABC 7 that the program is done multiple times a year to try and reduce the number of pedestrians hit by cars.

In 2013, 62 people were hit in Fort Lee. However, in 2014, that number dropped to 40. This is representative of a larger, more ominous statistic however. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 4,743 pedestrians were killed in 2012 after being hit by cars.

While the ultimate goal is, obviously, reducing this number to zero, Fort Lee proved awareness programs like these are helping push down the numbers of people getting hurt or killed. The humorous touch of using a Donald Duck suit only adds to its awesomeness, and it also gives the drivers no excuse. There's no way you "didn't see" this guy in the middle of the street.

Surprise, surprise — the drivers who got ticketed don't think the exercise is all that awesome. One of them plans to fight the ticket, because she thought the mascot was a crazy person trying to start trouble.

They told me that I was getting a ticket for not stopping for a duck. But it scared me. I'm a woman. This huge duck scared me.

I'm not sure how much water that reasoning holds, but I think its safe to say if you see someone crossing the street, no matter what popular animal character they're dressed up as, it's probably best to stop and let them cross. It'll get you out of a pretty steep ticket, and way more importantly, it could save somebody's life.

Images: ABC 7 (2)