Traffic Enforcement Program Provides Flower Mound Residents With an Array of Safety Benefits

2121 Cross Timbers Road
Flower Mound, Texas 75028
972.874.6000

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Traffic Enforcement Program Provides Flower Mound Residents With an Array of Safety Benefits

Traffic enforcement is one of the most visible and beneficial services a police department provides to a community. In addition to making the streets safer for motorists, passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians, a proactive traffic enforcement program contributes to the overall safety of a community on a variety of levels.

The average American is more likely to be involved in a traffic crash than be a victim of a crime. According to national statistics, there is one fatality crash every 12 minutes, one injury crash every 11 seconds, one reported crash every 5 seconds, and one property damage crash every 7 seconds. Everyone pays for traffic crashes and the economic costs are significantly more than crime. Crashes cost Americans $164.2 billion annually, while violent crimes and property crimes cost Americans $16.1 billion annually.

The Flower Mound Police Department operates a fulltime traffic enforcement unit comprised of six officers and a sergeant. The group is responsible for traffic enforcement and accident investigation. There were 746 reported crashes in Flower Mound in 2009, 146 of them involved injuries and six involved fatalities.

A common misconception about traffic enforcement is that police officers excessively enforce speeding laws. It is accurate that one of the most common and dangerous infractions the unit must address on a daily basis is vehicular speeding. The offense contributes to an estimated 21 percent of all fatal car crashes nationally, and 88 percent of all speeding-related fatalities in 2008 occurred on local roads.

While speeding is a serious violation that warrants enforcement, recently released statistics indicate that it does not receive a disproportionate amount of resource allocation when compared to other traffic offenses. The Flower Mound Police Department issued approximately 26,000 traffic citations between January 2009 and August 2010. Of those citations issued, only 42 percent were for speeding. In addition, the average speeding citation in Flower Mound was issued for 15 miles per hour over the speed limit, well above the threshold that officers can legally enforce.

Two additional myths about traffic enforcement are that officers are encouraged to write tickets as a revenue generator for the town and they unfairly target the community’s youth. The Flower Mound Police Department conducted 49,055 traffic stops between January 2009 and August 2010. Of those stops, only 37 percent resulted in citations being issued, and approximately 3 percent resulted in citations issued to juveniles.

In addition to enforcement, traffic officers perform a myriad of safety-related services, including addressing drivers who operate vehicles in an erratic, reckless, careless, or negligent manner and removing impaired drivers from the road. National Alcohol-Related Fatal and Injury Crash statistics indicate that 41% of all fatal crashes and 9% of all injury crashes are alcohol related. In 2009, Flower Mound police officers made 216 DWI arrests and 40 DUI minor arrests.

In addition, traffic enforcement also regularly identifies criminals who are in the process of other crimes or have outstanding warrants. Traffic stops in Flower Mound resulted in the apprehension of 617 criminals in 2009 and another 535 arrests between January and August 2010. Drugs, weapons, contraband, fugitives, and criminals are frequently found in vehicles and removed from the community during “routine” traffic stops.

A Flower Mound officer recently initiated a traffic stop due to observing an expired inspection sticker. The subject had in his vehicle several driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, books of checks, and invoices which belonged to various individuals. The individual also had a laminator, a printer, a computer, and the means to steal more than 40 different individual’s identities. He was arrested for fraudulent use of identifying information.

Unfortunately, that was not an isolated case. In one recent incident, a Flower Mound officer stopped a vehicle in which the occupant possessed more than six grams of heroin. Another traffic stop resulted in the arrest of both occupants for possession of marijuana and a suitcase full of drug paraphernalia, and a different incident resulted in a burglary arrest after officers located stolen goods in the vehicle.

While a proactive traffic enforcement program may be inconvenient for some motorists, the overall safety benefits provided to the entire community far outweigh the unintended minor nuisances some motorists may experience. Reducing vehicular accidents, identifying serious criminals, removing illegal substances and contraband from the community, and saving lives are all rewards of an organized traffic enforcement program.

For more information, download the Traffic Enforcement Handout.

Posted 02/25/2011.