March 06, 2022

Tri-State Law Enforcement Upping Patrols to Crack Down on Dangerous, Aggressive Driving - WEVV

Distracted Driving Patrols — Valerie Lyons

For the next few weeks, Tri-State Law Enforcement Agencies are conducting special operations to crack down on dangerous and aggressive driving.

The safety initiative is designed to reduce crashes and traffic fatalities and to promote safe driving around St. Patrick’s Day and the NCAA Tournament. It also comes at a time when roadway deaths continue to climb across the state and nation.

In response, officers will be conducting high-visibility patrols over the next several weeks, showing zero tolerance for anyone driving aggressively, over the speed limit or under the influence. The extra enforcement is funded through National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) grants administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).

Local Indiana State Police are among those taking part.

"My assigned county is Posey County," ISP Trooper Alexander Vennekotter said. "While I'm on my way to Posey I'm looking for speeds, I'm looking for distracted drivers, people that don't use their turn signals."

While the initiative is the same, it goes by different names for each agency.

For ISP, it's Operation Pull Over.

"From Illinois to [Posey County], all you really need is about 5 to 10 troopers to cover it, but you'll see almost double the patrol."

Nationwide, traffic fatalities continued to rise at a record pace last year, according to newly released federal data. NHTSA projects that an estimated 31,720 people were killed on U.S. roadways in the first nine months of 2021, a 12% increase from the same period in 2020. In Indiana, preliminary data from ICJI shows that 941 people died in fatal crashes last year. While that’s up 5% from 2020, it’s a 16% increase from pre-pandemic 2019 and represents the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2005. Alcohol, drug impairment, distracted driving, speeding and not wearing seat belts are some of the leading causes behind the rise in fatalities.

In Southwest Indiana, ISP is joining forces with the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office for the month-long campaign.

Last week, EPD said the agency's Traffic Unit, along with officers who signed up to work the Aggressive & Dangerous Driving Grant, stopped a total of 69 vehicles and issued 67 tickets during a span of only 4 hours.

"The number one goal is not to write tickets, right, we wish we didn't have to write any." said Major Jason Ashworth with VCSO. "We certainly just want people to be safe and be careful. We're trying to reduce the number of collisions we've had."

Ashworth said 2022 is already off to a rough start locally, with more than 180 crashes just in Vanderburgh County alone.

Just north of Vanderburgh, one recent fatal accident on US-41 still resonates with Vennekotter. It happened on February 23 resulting in one woman's death and several critical injuries, including an infant who had to be air-lifted to the hospital.

Investigators discovered speed played a major role in the accident and no one in the car was wearing seatbelts.

"It was just a very horrific scene," Vennekotter said. "To me that's why these operations are so important, is to remind the community that these things that are under your control can be the reason you're not in an accident."

So, you might want to be more mindful the next time you hit the road, but not just this month.

"Even though these operations are temporary you shouldn't be aggressive, you shouldn't be texting, you should always be wearing your seatbelt and always avoid speeding," Vennekotter said.

Oh, and before you try and slam on those breaks, think again.

"By the time we get your speed, you don't even see us yet," Vennekotter said. "So, by the time you see us, it's usually too late."

Officers will continue to conduct traffic details until March 21st.

source: https://www.wevv.com/news/tri-state-law-enforcement-upping-patrols-to-crack-down-on-dangerous-aggressive-driving/article_99ae5274-9d88-11ec-aff1-2b3e20053b15.html

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Tri-State Law Enforcement Upping Patrols to Crack Down on Dangerous, Aggressive Driving - WEVV