Woman fined for walking too slowlyFrom: From correspondents in...

Woman fined for walking too slowly
From: From correspondents in Los Angeles
April 13, 2006
AN 82-year-old woman was slapped with a $US114 ($156) ticket for taking too long to cross a street.

Mayvis Coyle was shuffling across a busy LA road with her cane, but could not make it to the other side before the light turned red.
A motorcycle policeman pounced, telling her she was obstructing traffic before writing out the fine.

"I think it's completely outrageous," she said. "He treated me like a six-year-old."

Los Angeles police Sergeant Mike Zaboski said police are cracking down on people who improperly cross streets because pedestrian accidents are above normal.

He said he could not comment on Coyle's ticket other than to say that it is her word against that of the citing officer.


"I'd rather not have angry pedestrians," Zaboski said. "But I'd rather have them be alive."
On the day in question, the light changed too quickly even for high school students to make it across without running. It went from green to red in 20 seconds.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18802600-13762,00.html