From July 28 - August 12, officers will be working 50 hours of Operation Pull Over funded seat belt patrols and 25 hours of aggressive driving patrols. By running aggressive patrols and seat belt patrols simultaneously; we seek to reduce crashes by reducing some of the big causes of crashes and reduce injuries in the crashes that do occur by ensuring that all vehicles are properly restrained.
Through the first half of 2015, the La Porte Police Department investigated 296 property damage crashes and 64 personal injury crashes that injured a total of 80 people. During the first half of 2016, the department investigated 311 property damage crashes and 46 personal injury crashes that injured a total of 66 people. Although, the number of crashes and the number of personal injury crashes declined; property damage crashes increased.
During aggressive driving patrols officers will be targeting dangerous driving behaviors including stop sign/automatic signal violations and failure to yield; following too closely; unsafe backing; unsafe speed or driving too fast for conditions; improper turning and passing and texting while driving. Officers will be working to eliminate or reduce these violations and others with the goal of reducing crashes and injuries in La Porte.
During seat belt patrols officers will be targeting seat belt and child restraint violations and will be citing all violators. Unfortunately, you may be the safest driver in the world; but you have no control over other motorists’ driving actions whatsoever and their actions may cause you to be involved in a traffic crash. Proper passenger restraint use is the best way to prevent injuries from traffic crashes, if preventing the traffic crashes themselves is unsuccessful.
Operation Pull Over is a traffic safety grant program funded by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. The goal of Operation Pull Over is to reduce traffic crashes injuries and fatalities by promoting passenger restraint use, and supporting impaired and dangerous driving enforcement.
For more information on Operation Pull Over and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s other programs and activities, please visit http://www.in.gov/cji.