Benton police officers responded to fewer traffic accidents during the June “Slow Your Roll” initiative. However, though there was a slight decrease of citations for DWI, unsafe driving, and no seat belt violations, officers doubled the volume of speeding citations.
Officers responded to 136 traffic accidents on public roads and private property in May. During the June initiative, officers responded to 115 traffic accidents on public roads and private property, a 15 percent decrease. Between January 1 and June 30, officers have responded to a total of 731 traffic accidents.
“I think, at least in part, the decrease of accidents can be contributed to our department reaching the public through social media and word of mouth about driving safety tips,” said Police Chief Kirk Lane. “We hope everyone continues to be attentive while driving, and will remember safety tips along with complying to traffic laws so that the volume of traffic accidents continues to decrease.”
During the Slow Your Roll initiative, no seat belt citations decreased from 25 in May to 12 in June; DWI arrests decreased from 13 in May to 9 in June; and unsafe driving citations decreased from 50 in May to 35 in June. However, citations for speeding increased from 5 in May to 10 citations in June.
The total between January 1 and June 30 are:
- No Seat Belt – 111 citations
- DWI – 69 arrests
- Unsafe Driving – 333 citations
- Speeding – 107 citations
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- Nationwide the number of speeding-related traffic fatality accidents increased by 3 percent in 2015, from 9,283 in 2014 to 9,557 in 2015.
- The number of fatality accidents increased by 13 percent in Arkansas between 2014 and 2015.
- Nearly half of the 22,441 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2015 were not wearing their seatbelt. In contrast, 13,941 people were saved by wearing their seatbelt in 2015.
- In Arkansas, 28 percent of traffic fatalities in 2015 involved an intoxicated driver (above 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level).
To report suspicious driving and/or accidents, call the Benton Police Department at 501-778-1171 or 501-315-TIPS. Individuals also may send us anonymous information to CRIMES (274637) with the keyword BNPD in the body of the text or go to www.crimereports.com to leave a tip. A crime tip can also be submitted via the official Benton Police Department app found on ITunes and Google Play.
Follow BNPD on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Benton-Police-Department/221829174560849