Lawmen to target 'distracted drivers'
Toolbox
By Brent Curtis STAFF WRITER - Published: October 20, 2009
The Rutland County Sheriff's Department is stepping up highway patrols in key places and at key times in hopes of cutting down on accidents that numbered more than 1,000 in the county last year.
The department recently received $22,000 from the Governor's Highway Safety Program, which will pay for additional highway enforcement – especially the "detection and apprehension of impaired drivers."
While drunken drivers and overtired motorists fall under the heading of "impaired drivers" Sheriff Stephen Benard singled out two types of distracted drivers not presently breaking the law through their actions — motorists conversing or texting on their cell phones.
Using data gathered by the state, Benard and Sheriff's Department Lt. Craig Hanson said they believes that "distracted driving" has shifted the time when most accidents happen from late night and early morning hours on weekends to the hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on most weekdays.
The reason for the switch in timing, the sheriff believes, is due to drivers devoting their attention to areas other than the road.
"The dynamics of the crashes at those peak times is like what you see with a lot of DUIs — people drift off the road and hit a tree or they drift of the road and hit a culvert," Benard said.
The sheriff said he believes cell phone use is a big part of what's distracting drivers — distractions he's seen firsthand.
"On my way back from Colorado, I saw tractor-trailer trucks swerving all over the road. When I passed them, every one had a Blackberry device in his hand and was trying to text," he said.
Of course, there's no law presently against talking – or even texting – on a cell phone while driving. But Benard said his deputies will be on the lookout for lane violations or lack of turn signals to issue motor vehicle tickets to drivers who are distracted by cell phones or anything else that takes their attention away from the road.
"I don't care if it's cell phones, eating a sandwich or reading the newspaper," Benard said, adding that he has seen newspaper reading behind the wheel in the past.
To find distracted drivers before accidents happen, Benard said, his department will begin next month to dedicate a deputy to patrol high accident areas around the county for at least 20 hours a week.
"That might not sound like a lot but they will be targeted patrols," Benard said.
The targets, Hanson said, include four roadways that were the scenes of fatal crashes last year. Those fatal accident scenes include stretches of Route 7 in Brandon, the intersection of routes 4 and 7 in Rutland, Route 7 in Clarendon and Business Route 4 in Rutland Town, which are all areas that will be covered by the Sheriff's saturation patrols.
The other two fatal crash sites were on Creek Road and Cold River Road in Clarendon.
The fatal accidents were only a handful of the 1,240 accidents that took place in the county last year – 224 of which involved injuries to motorists, passengers or pedestrians.
A map showing the location of those accidents shows a large concentration of crashes in Rutland City – where high volumes of vehicles turning and stopping resulted in mostly minor property damage accidents.
Outside the city, accidents were sparse in 2008 – except along the routes 4, 7, 30 and 22 corridors – which are all areas where Benard said his deputies will be conducting increased patrols. The sheriff also said the patrols will focus on sections of roadway not already patrolled by police departments in the city, Brandon or Castleton.
"We want to cover those areas that might not have much coverage otherwise," he said.
brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com
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