Seeing a traffic stop on the side of the road is what most people imagine when they think of what police officers do during their shift. GPD understands being pulled over by a police officer is an extremely nerve-racking experience. For law enforcement officers, traffic stops, and any subsequent citations, are about harm reduction and saving lives on the roadways—not about causing fear or resentment.
The Greenwich Police Department is committed to making the roadways in Greenwich safe. The GPD Traffic Section has used a combination of increased driver awareness and, when needed, enforcement of those specific moving violations shown to most likely cause traffic crashes to achieve this goal.
Consistent, highly visible, data-driven, professional traffic enforcement, coupled with a public education campaign, has been proven to reduce both the frequency and the severity of traffic crashes and their associated injuries and fatalities.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show that highway fatalities decreased in 2018 with 913 fewer deaths, down to 36,560 people from 37,473 people in 2017. This decrease is a contrast to the trend between the 2014 to 2016 time period, which represented the largest back-to-back traffic fatality percentage increases in over 50 years. According to studies regarding traffic fatalities and collisions:
The three primary factors of traffic fatalities are:
• Speed and aggressive driving,
• Operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs,
• Failure to wear a seat belt when one is available for use.
The three primary factors for traffic collisions are:
• Distracted driving,
• Operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs,
• Speed and aggressive driving.
Please wear your seat belts, obey the speed limit, and put down the mobile device.