The Carroll Police Department, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Jefferson Police Department participated in the Thanksgiving Holiday Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau Special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) that ran from Sunday, Nov. 19 through Sunday, Nov. 26. The numbers have been reported, with all three agencies seeing lower numbers of infractions and the Carroll PD reporting a very high percentage of drivers utilizing their seatbelts. The Sheriff’s Office reports 74 contacts with drivers over traffic offenses, mainly speeding, that resulted in 21 citations. They investigated two property-damage and two personal-injury accidents in that timeframe and assisted four motorists. They also served one arrest warrant. The Carroll PD issued 56 citations, mainly for seatbelt and speeding violations, and gave 79 warnings. They investigated five property-damage accidents, assisted one motorist and served one arrest warrant. The officers also did a pre- and post-enforcement survey, observing 93 percent of the drivers were wearing seatbelts prior to the week-long initiative. Following, they recorded an increase to 94 percent. The Jefferson Police Department issued a total of 14 citations and 110 warnings, mostly for speed and equipment violations. They investigated three accidents, provided one motorist assist, conducted four K-9 searches and served two arrest warrants. The special enforcement efforts throughout the year not only provide valuable information on traffic patterns and driver behaviors to the state government, they also result in a positive for local authorities. These departments receive grant money to assist with their traffic enforcement efforts in exchange for their participation.
