Specialized Traffic Enforcement Project (STEP) MICHIGAN

Ingham County Sheriff Department

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

In FY 1990, Ingham County Michigan was identified as having the second highest traffic injury crash rate in the state. The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning met with county officials to encourage them to take steps to address this problem. The Ingham County Sheriff Department conducted a preliminary safety belt usage survey and determined that only 47 percent of the driving population was buckling up, thereby contributing to the high number of injury crashes.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The primary goals of this project were to increase the level of safety belt usage county-wide and to reduce the number of injury crashes through a comprehensive, multi-year traffic enforcement program.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

Project S.T.E.P. was established by the Ingham County Sheriff Department as a three-year, county-wide, cooperative traffic enforcement effort involving seven county, local, and state law enforcement agencies, as well the county traffic engineering agency.

A project steering committee was established with representatives from each of the participating agencies. The first step in the project was an analysis of the crash history of each of the major traffic corridors in the county to determine which areas needed the most attention. This analysis led to the development of an action plan which guided their efforts over the three-year life of the

Specialized Traffic Enforcement Project (cont'd)

project. Law enforcement officers in the participating agencies were then provided training in Occupant Protection Usage and Enforcement (OPUE), and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST). Enforcement efforts targeted the high crash corridors in the county, with a focus on speed, safety belt and impaired driving violations.

The enforcement effort was supported by extensive public information activities that included:

RESULTS

A total of more than 12,000 staff hours were logged on Project S.T.E.P activities over the three-year period. This level of activity resulted in more than 36,000 enforcement contacts for speed, safety belt and alcohol-related violations. Crash rates fell by as much as 25 percent. Safety belt usage rose from 47 percent in 1993 to 87 percent in 1995. Additionally, a two-person traffic enforcement unit, funded solely through traffic fines, was begun.