Police have begun a crackdown on road safety on Collins and Swanston streets by booking an elderly jaywalker in front of a pair of TV cameras.

Operation Clash will focus on the two busy thoroughfares, identified by police data as accounting for much of the city's road injury toll.

Police are urging pedestrians to avoid distractions. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Senior Sergeant Greg Dean launched the initiative for media on Monday afternoon while constables Matt Makin and John Symons intercepted the elderly woman as she limped across Swanston Street.

The TV cameras trained on her, she fumbled slowly through her bag to produce a piece of ID, as Constable Symons explained the force's position on crossing the road against a red pedestrian light.