Police will use education and enforcement strategies to reduce the speed of vehicles travelling on residential roads.

News 100 blueBy Staff

April 19th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Halton Regional Police will continue to run two traffic initiatives across the City of Burlington throughout 2017.

The most common contributing factors to traffic accidents are inattentiveness, distracted driving (cell phone use), failing to yield, driving too fast for road conditions, following too closely and disobeying traffic light signals.

Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner talks with Sgt Davies, the man who heads up the accident reconstruction unit. The two of them would really like to see fewer accidents.

Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner talks with Sgt Davies, the man who heads up the accident reconstruction unit.

The Police continue to encourage residents to report traffic complaints by going to the Halton Regional Police Website and submitting the required information on-line.

Operation RISC (Reducing Intersection Safety Concerns) has been in effect since 2015 by officers from 30 Division, in order to maximize police visibility and increase the public’s perception of safety while driving.

Collisions at intersections have a high risk potential of serious injuries or even death, making intersection safety a priority for the Halton Regional Police.

The Police have also continued the Residential Traffic/Stop Sign/Speeding (RTSS) Initiative in order to deliver a clear message to drivers that our residential roads are not raceways. This traffic safety initiative was designed to increase compliance of stop signs. Police have utilized education and enforcement strategies throughout 2017 in order to reduce the speeds of vehicles travelling on residential roadways and to promote safer driving habits.

One tactic is to park a police cruiser close to the side of a road – there seems to be this automatic interaction between the foot on the gas pedal and they eye seeing a police cruiser – the eye apparently forces the foot to apply less pressure to the gas pedal.

During the first 3 months of 2017, officers in Burlington conducted 6,495 traffic stops, issued 4,576 Provincial Offences Notices and handed out more than 1,000 warnings to drivers. Halton Police spent a total of 3,628 hours dedicated to these two initiatives throughout Burlington.

As a result of this initiative; during the first three months of 2017, property damage motor vehicle collisions were down 9% and personal injury motor vehicle collisions were down 2% from 2016.

Police will continue to focus their efforts at locations that pose a higher risk to the public based on past collision analytic data. “Our officers will continue to educate drivers about their behaviour behind the wheel. Road Safety is everyone’s responsibility. We all need to do our part behind the wheel to ensure our roadways are safe for everyone” said Sgt. Jared McLeod, District Response Unit.

Police will continue to focus on drivers who are driving impaired, distracted and aggressive behind the wheel in order to protect and ensure the safety of all residents.

These measures and others are part of the Service’s broader Community First policing philosophy that focuses on incorporating the four pillars of (community) safety and well-being into service priorities: Emergency Response, Risk Intervention, Prevention, and Social Development.

If any citizen would like to report a traffic concern they can do so by visiting our website and submitting an online traffic complaint.

 

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