CRACK DOWN

Law enforcement to focus on speeding drivers

Local law enforcement agencies will participate in a regional effort to make drivers obey posted speed limits this weekend.

Representatives of the Hot Springs Police Department and the Garland County Sheriff’s Department said the agencies will adopt a zero-tolerance speed enforcement policy Friday through Sunday.

The effort is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Speed Enforcement Campaign, which has drawn a commitment from law enforcement agencies in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Sheriff Mike McCormick emphasized the importance of the campaign in a news release.

“Speeding places others in

unnecessary danger,” he said. “We will not tolerate this behavior.”

Both agencies released information stating 27 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States in 2015 were related to a driver either going too fast for given conditions or exceeding the posted speed limit. They also noted 86 percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities happened on local roads, where the posted speed limits were no greater than 55 mph.

The release said 17 percent of traffic fatalities in Arkansas, representing 90 deaths, in 2015 were speeding-related.

“Speeding is a major contributing factor to traffic accidents which could have been avoided if the driver had heeded the speed limit,” McCormick said. “Our goal for this campaign is to save lives and reduce the number of accidents in Garland County by slowing down those who disregard the speed limits.”

A Hot Springs police news release about the speed enforcement effort posted on The Sentinel-Record’s Facebook page on July 12 drew a number of comments, including many that specifically mentioned areas of Garland County and Hot Springs where speeding was an issue.

Areas within the sheriff ’s department’s jurisdiction included South Moore Road and Mountain Pine Road in western Garland County.

Inside the Hot Springs city limits, specific roadways included Central Avenue, Albert Pike Road and the intersection of Grand and Malvern avenues.

McCormick told The Sentinel-Record that he has received complaints of speeding drivers in the Albert Pike Road and Airport Road areas around Lake Hamilton, but his department will spread its efforts evenly throughout the county.

“We’re not limiting it to one particular area,” he said.

The police department says it will conduct “saturation patrols” throughout Hot Springs for the program’s three days.

Hot Springs police Cpl. Kirk Zaner, the department’s public information officer, said the patrols will consist of one supervisor and eight officers who will clock drivers’ speeds and pull over those who exceed the posted limits.

Zaner said the department will not divulge the designated areas of patrol.

Some comments on the Facebook post accused the police department of simply using this weekend’s program as a measure to collect revenue. One comment called the program a “scam.”

Zaner said generating revenue is not the reason the police department is participating in the program.

“We’re not trying to make money; we’re trying to save lives,” Zaner said, noting only a small percentage of ticket revenue goes back to local law enforcement.

“That is not a factor on any level,” McCormick said. “We are focusing toward making it safer for everyone to operate their vehicles and for pedestrians on the roadways in Garland County.”

McCormick said the sheriff’s department will also be watching for seat belt and DWI violations during the three-day campaign.

Zaner said the police department will be focusing on speeders, but will also address other violations that may be discovered during the traffic stops.

“This program is designed to get people to slow down,” Zaner said.