CPD and MUPD report decreases in traffic tickets, crashes
Alcohol, speed and inattention were cited as common contributors.
Published Feb. 16, 2009
The Columbia Police Department reported a 7 percent decrease in traffic citations and an 8.4 percent decrease in crashes in its traffic report released Friday.
"The number of crashes have gone down, and we're very happy with that," CPD Capt. Zim Schwartze said. "We work with different coalitions and agencies to try and reduce the number of crashes, and we're targeting certain areas we've been having problems with."
The highest number of accidents, 69, happened at the U.S. 63 Connector and Interstate 70 E., followed by the intersection of Stadium Boulevard and Forum Boulevard with 50 crashes in the past year.
Schwartze said the high traffic in these areas is the cause for the problems.
The MU Police Department similarly stated a 15.3 percent decrease in accidents and a 20.5 percent decrease in traffic citations from 2007 to 2008, released in a 2008 report.
MUPD Capt. Brian Weimer said reasons varied, but the department is looking at accident locations to see if a trend is developing. Reasons for the decrease in citations might vary, Weimer said.
"There are many other factors involved such as decrease in the number of drivers on the road, drivers doing a better job following the laws and similar factors," Weimer said.
Schwartze also said there are various reasons for the decreases in traffic citations.
"Others have brought up that, especially last summer, there were probably less cars on the road because of high gas prices," Schwartze said. "It's a variety of reasons."
The two most commonly cited circumstances in traffic violations were following too close due to inattention and failing to yield, Schwartze said.
"As always, don't drink and drive and don't multitask," Schwartze said. "We've got a lot of people wanting to text and talk on the phone and do everything but drive."
Schwartze said drivers should put away distractions and focus on driving and their surroundings.
MUPD reported 296 arrests for driving under the influence. Out of 94 stops with the discovery of contraband goods, 65 involved drugs, alcohol or paraphernalia. Similarly, the six fatal crashes in Columbia in 2008 were related to speed, alcohol or both, Schwartze said.
According to the Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety Division, there was a 25 percent decrease in fatal crashes from 2005 to 2008.
Both CPD and MUPD reported increased activity for the departments in the past year, which affected the decrease in total traffic citations. Weimer also said MUPD doesn't have officers who are employed just for traffic duty.
"We do not have a specific traffic unit and our officers work traffic enforcement when they are not on other calls," Weimer said. "That said, we did have an increase in calls for service in 2008 and that may have had a slight impact on our total traffic stops."