Focused enforcement leads to more speeding tickets, fewer accidents

Photo By Amy Perry | A Fort Lee police department officer watches for moving violations by post motorists during a recent patrol. Increased police presence and education efforts have led to a reduction in overall traffic offenses here.  

UNITED STATES

12.01.2016

Story by Amy Perry 

Fort Gregg-Adams

FORT LEE, Va. (Dec. 1, 2016) -- The Provost Marshal Office recently released the data on traffic offenses for fiscal 2016, and the installation has seen positive trends overall.

Drunk driving offenses are down 30 percent – from 33 in fiscal 2015 to 23 in fiscal 2016. Traffic accidents are down by half – 101 this year compared to 198 – and traffic violations other than speeding are down 22 percent.

Speeding offenses have increased from 946 in fiscal 2015 to 1,346, a 70-percent jump, but Maj. Joe Tull, installation Provost Marshal, said there’s a valid reason for it.

“I don’t want to give the false impression that speeding is up, but rather we are doing more enforcement,” said Tull. “The good story here is when you see the speeding tickets go up, the traffic accidents go down. That is a good correlation to see. We are making more contacts with drivers – through a citation or verbal warning – and accidents are down.”

PMO has taken several steps to work on its traffic offense numbers, Tull noted, and cracking down on speeders is important to the well-being of the community.

“It’s really a public safety issue,” he said. “We focus our efforts on the spots with more traffic, especially the locations with ingress and egress of the workforce. Mahone Gate has been an issue lately, and we have seen a lot of folks speeding on Mahone Avenue, mostly those going off the installation.

“The greatest concern is the potential harm that could result from people driving at excessive speeds,” he continued. “The speed limits across the post are about 25-30 mph, and there are people driving 10-15 miles over that. It can make it a dangerous situation.”

Tull said tickets from the area of Route 36 between Sisisky and Lee gates also add to the overall total. PMO’s enforcement in that area promotes a safer environment for Fort Lee’s workforce and residents.

The reduction in traffic violations other than speeding also is something Tull is happy with. Those types of offenses include using cellphones while driving, failure to yield to emergency vehicles, faulty equipment or expired license tags.

“It’s another sign of a positive change,” said Tull. “We’ve really been engaged in getting the word out about our enforcement efforts.”

• Date Taken: 12.01.2016
• Date Posted: 12.01.2016 08:39
• Story ID: 216100
• Location: US