Car accidents will always occur on Indiana roads, but there may be ways to cut down on their number. The Elkhart County Traffic Safety Partnership recently received a grant intended to support initiatives to reduce accidents. Again, eliminating traffic accidents may appear to be impossible. However, taking reasonable steps to boost law enforcement’s presence on the road may cut down on the number of traffic incidents.
An impressive grant
The Elkhart County Traffic Safety Partnership received a grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute that nearly totaled $106,000. The grant money intends to serve a useful purpose on local roads.
Local law enforcement intends to use the money to boost initiatives to address drunk driving, seat belt violations and more. The potential to cut down on accidents may increase if police become more productive with traffic safety enforcement.
The benefits from the grant may be hard to miss. If the police pull someone over for drunk driving, they may potentially prevent a fatal accident from happening. Similarly, ticketing someone for not wearing a seat belt could lead that person to become more cautious from that point forward. Wearing a seat belt during an accident may also prevent fatalities and injuries. Pulling over speeding and reckless drivers could also cut down on possible crashes.
Traffic enforcement and reality
Increased and enhanced traffic enforcement may have benefits, but limitations exist. The police cannot be everywhere, nor can they stop every moving violation. Some drivers have bad habits that may not go away even when the police are out in full force.
What about drivers who try to flee from the police? An intoxicated driver who reaches 100 miles per hour during a car chase won’t make the roads safer. Unfortunately, the police have no idea how a driver may react.
A person can avoid a seat belt ticket by “buckling up,” but what happens if there’s a manufacturer defect? If the seat belts don’t work correctly, they may fail when needed.
Increased law enforcement activity may reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents (MVA). That said, the roads remain risky, and people who get hurt by a negligent driver may find themselves having to sue.
