NewsCovering Colorado

Actions

Working to reduce traffic injuries in Colorado Springs with added enforcement

Posted at 7:24 PM, Jan 06, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-06 21:24:53-05

Extra traffic enforcement is on the 2020 agenda for Colorado Springs Police. “Our goal—zero fatalities,” said Sgt Glen Thomas.

A grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation funds the effort. Officers come in for extra duty to patrol 40 locations across Colorado Springs. Ten in each of the four police divisions across the city. “Excessive speeds, lane violations, turn violations, running the red lights, racing the red lights," said Thomas. In some areas it is intersections, along others it is stretches of road.

Each of the locations was selected because it among areas with the highest number of injury accidents. "We have a Strategic Information Center that compiles all of the information of the number of crashes that are happening within the city and how many of those crashes involve injury or fatalities," said Thomas.

Education is also part of the strategy. Some will learn the hard way with a citation, while others will see officers at work. "we want people to know, look this is a problem, this is what we want to change,” said Thomas, “And if we can get everybody to drive within the law and we reduce crashes down to zero, then that's a win for everyone." The locations are listed for everyone to see on CSPD social media platforms.