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GREENWICH, Conn. Distracted driving increases in October as people take to the road en masse to see the leaves in the Northeast change colors. In light of this trend, Greenwich police will be stepping up enforcement to ensure pedestrian safety.
October is a busy month with people driving around watching the leaves change colors then mischief surrounding Halloween toward the end of the month, said Sgt. John Slusarz of the traffic section of the police department. When theyre out doing their Sunday rides, they tend to drift out of their lanes into traffic, off the road, and it can result in accidents and injuries to not just the drivers, but pedestrians.
As a result of distracted driving, head-on collisions and motor vehicle-pedestrian crashes may occur. In taking a proactive approach to reducing the number of injuries and amount of property damages these incidents cause each year, officers will be focusing on pedestrian safety, lane usage and failure to signal, Slusarz said.
The focus is part of the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, or STEP, a combined education and enforcement program designed to reduce traffic offenses. Each month, traffic safety priorities are highlighted according to town needs. As a result, you may see more officers out on the road.
What youll be seeing is our enforcement officers focusing on these violations on roads that have statistically seen crash increases, said Slusarz. Theyre going to be actually looking for these violations, and were going to be taking a hard-line approach to enforcing these violations because complacency, especially at this time of year, can be disastrous.
To prevent distracted driving, Slusarz urges drivers to remember their most important job is to pay attention to the road. Everything else is secondary: the conversation hes having, the kids screaming, the telephone thats ringing, the leaves on the trees, he said. Driving the car and being alert to whats going on around the car that can affect the safety operation of the vehicle is of primary importance."
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