HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3.4 TrafficUnitPresentatn CITY CLERK
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AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: December 17, 2002
SUBJECT: Presentation by Police Services on the Traffic Unit
Report Prepared by Gary L. Thuman, Police Chief
ATTACHMENTS: None
RECOMMENDATION: eceive and Accept Police Services Staff Presentation
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION:
The City of Dublin Police Services Departmem is organized into two divisions: Operations and
Administration. The Traffic Unit is situated within the Operations Division. Staff has prepared a
presentation on the Traffic Unit and its operation.
The Traffic Unit has the primary responsibility for enforcement of traffic laws and traffic collision
investigation. Of primary concern to the Traffic Unit has been the increase of non-injury and injury
accidents in recent years. The total number of injury collisions has increased from 16 in 1995, to 76 in
2002, as a result of several factors. Residential and commercial growth in the City and the subsequent
increase of vehicular traffic on our streets was one factor. Three (3) additional factors were also
involved: red light running, speed, and failure to stop for posted signage. The last three factors were
addressed by increased traffic enforcement in an attempt to modify driver behavior as an effort to reduce
vehicular accidents. A total of 5,303 moving citations were issued year to date as compared to 4,129 for
calendar year 2001. This represented a 22.1% increase which corresponded to a 6.1% overall decrease in
non-injury accidents, 321 accidents in 2001 versus a projected 302 accidents in 2002. Despite the overall
reduction in vehicle accidents, injury accidents still increased by 11.8% as there were 67 injury accidents
in 2001, versus a projected 76 accidents in 2002.
In 2001, Police Services applied for and received an Office of Traffic Safety Grant in an endeavor to
further police efforts to reduce both injury and non-injury accidents. Received as part of the grant were
the following: 1 SMART Radar Trailer, 1 full equipped Harley Davidson Motorcycle, 3 handheld Talon
Radar units, and 2 handheld Pro-Laser Radar units. The acquisition of this additional equipment has
significantly aided the Traffic Unit's ability to enforce traffic laws within the City.
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COPIES TO:
Additional programs the Traffic Unit participates in are as follows:
Avoid the 21 (DUI enforcement during specific times of the year)
COSAC (Commercial Officers Southem Alameda County- enforces vehicle codes that specifically
pertain to commercial vehicles and public carriers)
CITE program (Combined Inter-Agency Traffic Enforcement) Collaborative effort of Tri-Valley
police agencies to target specific individual city problems)
Child Safety Seat Checks (Performed in conjunction with the Alameda County Safe Kids
Coalition to ensure parental compliance with child safety seat laws)
It is recommended that the City Council receive and accept the presentation from Police Services
staff.