Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road? To Give Out Tickets To Dangerous Drivers

We finally have an answer as to why the chicken crossed the road. As it turns out that chicken was attempting to give out reckless driving citations to bad drivers.

A police officer in Lake Elsinore, California has been dressing up as a chicken and crossing the road to check for drivers who don’t yield to pedestrians.

The chicken costume was part of a department-wide crackdown against drivers who fail to yield as pedestrians make their way through crosswalks.

The crackdown was performed at five different locations, including two spots in close proximity to Lake Elsinore schools.

According to Sgt. Peter Giannakakos the chicken dressed officer walked through crosswalks as motor officers monitored the decoy.

By the end of the short experiment 31 drivers were issued citations for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The officers also gave one unlucky driver a ticket for speeding through what happened to be a police sting.

Giannakakos explains, “Even though the decoy was wearing a bright yellow costume, most drivers stated they did not see him crossing the road.”

Police highly publicized the upcoming crackdown ahead of time, giving drivers a good chance to avoid being pulled over for failing to yield to a pedestrian chicken.

Here is the original notice that was placed days in advance of the police pedestrian crosswalk sting:

“Drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists who make conditions unsafe around Lake Elsinore’s elementary schools can expect — at the very least — a tap on the shoulder Oct. 24. In an ongoing effort to provide safety to pedestrians, to include school children on their way to classes, the Lake Elsinore Police Department will be conducting a crosswalk safety enforcement Thursday at several undisclosed areas in the city.”

The notice mentioned very clearly that crosswalks located near elementary schools would be targeted during the investigation.

Would you stop if a large yellow chicken suddenly crossed the road? Would you ask him why he crossed the street?