Does increased police presence mean safer roads? : News : UpperMichigansSource.com

Does increased police presence mean safer roads?

Posted: 04.19.2011 at 4:51 PM

MARQUETTE -- It's been about six months since the Marquette Police Department announced they'd be stepping up patrols of the US-41 south corridor.  They're targeting the morning and afternoon rush hour and say they can already see considerable improvement in traffic safety on the road.

They're known as 'minor' traffic violations, but officers say the crackdown on speeders and left lane drivers on the US-41 south corridor isn't a waste of time.

"I've taken a real stance on this because that's where we have a majority of our fatal accidents in the city of Marquette," says Marquette PD Captain Rieboldt.

And they're seeing results.

"Traffic stops have gone way down," says Sgt. Ryan Grim. "I think the motorists are paying more attention to even minor traffic laws. It's just gotten a lot better; the flow is much better than it used to be."

The Marquette Police Department says the increased patrols aren't about writing more tickets but educating the public. So far, they say it's working. There hasn't been any fatalities on this road this year.  Last year there were two.

The evidence was clear while I rode with Sgt. Grim.  Many motorists knew to move back over into the right lane after passing; it was tough to find examples of illegal left lane drivers.

We pulled over only four motorists in our two hour trip this morning...that's compared to an average of 7-10 every hour when the project began.  However, they're still coming across people who aren't educated on the law and clog the flow of traffic.

But why focus city PD on civil infractions that usually only amount to a $125 ticket?  They say it's something concrete they can do to make Marquette a safer place.

"It's our obligation.  We've determined this stretch is dangerous, and that's what our job is to do: try and prevent," Rieboldt says.