Topic: Road Safety

CPD has a new weapon in its war on DUI’s: a portable booking station on wheels

By Bill Larson | August 30, 2008 |

Clarksville Police win twice: a “Speed Awareness Campaign” Trophy from the state and new grant funded DUI facility on wheels

Clarksville roads are a bit safer today due to a group of highly dedicated men and women who got together last night for a joint Clarksville Police Department DUI Enforcement and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department DUI roadblock. Approximately 450 vehicles passed through the checkpoint during its operation between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., with between 10 and 15 citations being issued for a variety of offenses including not wearing seat belts, falsified registration, driving without headlights, curfew violations, and at least two suspected DUI’s.

The new DUI trailer is equipped with breathalizers, wireless computer technology and holding cells. Here officers administer a field sobriety test.

This outing was the first for the Clarksville Police’s new DUI trailer. Late Friday afternoon, local police and representatives from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office gathered on Vista Lane to unveil the new $27,000 trailer, designed and built by Trailerlogic of Anderson, South Carolina. Mike Richardson, President of Trailerlogic, was on hand for the event and its first deployment Friday night.

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Sections: Issues, News | No Comments

Fix our roads before resorting to traffic enforcement cameras

By Bill Larson | April 15, 2008 |

Clarksville wants to install red-light cameras at up to 4 Clarksville intersections in what is basically a dangerous revenue generating scheme. These cameras result in more accidents not less. The damage rear end accidents cause costs more to repair. There is also an increased likelihood of injuries and even death to those who are involved in the rear-end accidents. Let’s not even talk about the fact that insurance rates will likely end up going through the roof even if you never get one of these tickets.

I hereby challenge our city to fix our broken intersections, and not to profit off a problem the city has created intentionally or otherwise!

The city insists their goal is road safety and not revenue, so I am sure they would not mind putitng their money where their mouth is. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion | 2 Comments

Traffic enforcement cameras lead to increased accidents, injuries, and deaths

By Bill Larson | May 15, 2007 |

Red-light and speed enforcement cameras greatly increase the number of accidents.

Red-light Cameras cause an increase in rear-end & t-bone crashes. They also don’t stop people from running red-lights. “The most serious violations, those occurring more than 5 seconds into the red phase, did not drop in the three year period after the program began issuing tickets.”

Arkansas, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas, Utah and West Virginia have enacted laws banning speed cameras. Two other states dropped their use of speed cameras after they generated intense public outcry. If traffic enforcement cameras were such a good thing, would they do that?

Lets take a look at some scientific studies for a possible explanation: «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, News, Politics | No Comments