 |
|
Search
City Hall175 East 200 NorthSt. George, UT 84770(435) 627-4000
| March 16, 2010 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services & Resources
City Forms andApplications
Job OpportunitiesUtility InformationPay Utilities Online
City Departments
Building & Safety DivisionCode EnforcementNew DevelopmentFire DepartmentLegal ServicesLeisure ServicesParks MaintenancePolice DepartmentMore...
City Council
Agendas & MinutesMayor Dan McArthurCouncil Members
Public Transportation
Conservation
|
Put on your "Big Boy" pants and Do It! My father-in-law (a not-so-old 80 year old rancher from Idaho) has a saying (he has many of them), but this one is pertinent: "Put on your Big Boy pants and do it!" I heard him say this once when he noticed someone that was reluctant to get involved with something that was their responsibility. Many years ago, a Traffic Division was started in the police department. We had to apply for the position. There were interviews. We had to explain why we wanted the position. Four officers were chosen and then the chief called us all together to explain his philosophy of the division. We were to concentrate on moving violations that related to the root causes of crashes in St. George in an effort to slow or reduce the number of crashes. We gathered statistics, developed strategies and organized our patrols. And then we measured the successes. There were typically 25 to 35 crashes in a month on East Boulevard and on North Bluff Street. We pulled on the "big-boy" pants and we did it. We concentrated on East Blvd. Two officers in the morning, two in the afternoon. We wrote cites and warnings for every moving violation that we saw. We teamed up (we had to, there was no place to park to easily access the street.) Our primary goal was to stop the violators and to be seen doing it. We wrote about twice as many warning as citations, but we stopped them all. How did we do? The next month, there were 3 crashes on East Blvd. So we concentrated on North Bluff. Same results. 29 crashes to 2 the following month. We found out some interesting things: that the main causes of crashes in St. George are And we found that people turned or pulled out expecting that the other car was going the speed limit. When the other car was going too fast (speeding), then the car that pulled out or turned in front usually got hit. Speed does relate to the cause of a crash as a secondary contributor. But we are seeing something different now. Our chief has asked us in effect to "pull on the big boy pants and do it". Although these 3 causes remain high on the list, sometimes changing places, there is a new menace emerging: Failing to stop at the red lights. Often, the violator will see the yellow and stomp on it. This is a potentially deadly situation. Someone is usually in the intersection waiting for the light to turn red so they can clear the intersection, only to find that as they turn, a now-faster-moving vehicle is trying to beat the light. Some alarming statistics from the National Institute for Traffic Safety for red light violations and those that run them:
PEOPLE ARE DYING OUT THERE, FOLKS! We are noticing the trend in St. George as well. We have to make a change. The police department is stepping up to the plate and we are going to take a swing at the problem. We are stepping up patrols of the intersections. We are stopping people that stomp on it to get through the yellow light. We are citing those who run the red. But we can't do it without you. Our area is still small. It's not like commuting 40 minutes. Stopping at a red light (or a yellow light) only delays you about 40 seconds. From Dixie Downs to the mall, speeding 10 over the limit will only get you there about a minute and a half earlier. That's clear across town! If it's 20 minutes or 22 minutes, is it really worth the hazards that are created by speeding? A traffic stop can take from 15 to 20 minutes. And a word of advice: when you get stopped, don't be angry at the officer for stopping you for something that you did wrong. Take responsibility for it, admit it, work through it and go on with life. After all, he couldn't stop you if you weren=t breaking the law. He's only trying to protect you from yourself, and to protect others. He's seen the stats, the crashes, the injuries, the deaths and the mayhem and he's trying to do something about it. Here's what you can do to help us with this problem: We'll do our part. The rest is up to you. Pull on your big-boy pants and do it! Craig Harding Public Information Officer St. George Police Department |
Sunbrook | SG. Golf Club
Red Hills | Southgate
Junior Assoc. of Golf
Weather Information| ©2007 City of St. George. All Rights Reserved. | Report Website Errors |