It's only March and already there's been six pedestrian deaths resulting from a dozen motor vehicle crashes in Monmouth County.

Officials find this number is alarming because the average number of fatal pedestrian accidents over each of the past three years has been 10.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said his office is teaming up with local municipal police departments and the AAA to train the public.

The exercises take place 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday at Joe Palaia Park at 240 Whalepond Road, Ocean Township.

Gramiccioni said people need to learn how to behave in order to protect themselves when they're walking or driving in areas where pedestrians and drivers tend to interact.

"We figured this is a good opportunity to marry education and enforcement," said Gramiccioni.

The exercises will be standard field stops for both pedestrians and drivers. But instead of them surrendering licenses and registrations and going through the process of possibly being issued citations, Gramiccioni said they are going to be educated. They'll be handed a flyer or a pamphlet with the law printed on it and officers will answer any questions that might arise.

The idea is to get pedestrians and motorists to modify their behavior and make sure they're taking steps to protect themselves.

"We want to get out ahead of this, especially the Jersey Shore area, when the season influx of tourists, people coming down to spend time at the beach as spring and summer roll around," said Gramiccioni.

The overall strategy is trying to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that occur because of the interactions with pedestrians and motor vehicles.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office released the following statistics regarding motor vehicle crashes and pedestrian deaths over the past few years.

2019 — 6 pedestrian deaths/12 total crashes

2018 — 10 pedestrian deaths/28 total crashes

2017 — 11 pedestrian deaths/40 total crashes

2016 — 10 pedestrian deaths/47 total crashes

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