Police pushing safe driving

The Baltimore Sun

Howard County police launched a publicity campaign this week to promote safe driving, an initiative that was delayed several weeks after an officer died trying to flag down a speeder on Route 32.

Four to five times more people die in traffic accidents in Howard County than from homicide, Police Chief William J. McMahon said. According to police statistics, 86 people have died in 80 crashes since 2003.

The problem "is not something we're going to enforce our way out of," McMahon said.

McMahon stood in front of six red, white and black signs that he hopes will be posted in shopping centers, movie theaters and main roads into the county. One slogan reads, "You'll never make it on time ... If You Crash." Another says, "Today Isn't Your Day To Die. Don't Drink and Drive."

"When drivers cross our border, we want them to recognize that they're entering some place different," McMahon said. "A place that cares about your life and cares about the way you drive."

The department has received commitments to post the ads from Howard County schools and libraries and inside Howard Community College and Howard County General Hospital.

The effort, financed with a $10,000 grant from Columbia's Horizon Foundation, does not include enforcement.

Ticketing speeders and drunken drivers has received increased attention in the county since January 2005, when former Police Chief Wayne Livesay launched a traffic safety initiative targeting teens.

In early 2006, commanders tried to institute a quota of three traffic stops per shift -- a policy that was canceled amid concerns that it would lead to unwarranted arrests. The department also has lobbied the General Assembly for permission to erect automated speed cameras in school zones.

Despite the difficulty of reforming aggressive drivers, the theory is that county police commanders must focus resources on the most lethal behaviors and ones that generate the most complaints from residents.

"Speeding in residential neighborhoods is the No. 1 complaint my office receives," McMahon said, echoing statements of his predecessor.

Howard County now routinely pays officers overtime to enforce seat-belt laws and conduct targeted speed enforcement. Last month, an officer on a speed enforcement detail, Cpl. Scott Wheeler, was struck by a car he was attempting to pull over, becoming the first Howard County officer killed in the line of duty in 46 years. The department also has an officer who does nothing but seek out drunken drivers.

But Richard Krieg, president of the Horizon Foundation, said that more than enforcement was needed. Last year, the foundation convened a group to study best practices in the field of motor vehicle safety.

"We've got to have a full-court press and break through the static," Krieg said.

He said that research shows that the No. 1 way parents can prevent their children from getting into accidents is to gradually increase their driving privileges.

Krieg also says that the department's fatality statistics do not tell the whole picture.

"We still don't know how many accidents result in life-limiting injuries, whether temporary or a permanent disability," he said.

melissa.harris@baltsun.com

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