GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Wave project’s goal is to increase safety belt use and speed compliance on major arteries within the local community. The program’s objectives include:

• Increase safety belt use by five percent; and
• Increase speed compliance by ten percent.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Wave project implemented the following strategies and related activities to achieve its goals and objectives:

• Deployed intense saturation patrols (waves) on major arteries. Keller adds an additional four to eight officers during daylight hours of a holiday STEP Wave Enforcement. The additional officers are used solely for traffic enforcement and are instructed to primarily enforce the state’s safety belt and child safety seat laws in addition to speed enforcement. Officers work mostly on the heavily traveled arteries in Keller as well as school zones.

• Publicized the STEP Wave enforcement effort widely prior to each holiday period. The Keller Police Department conducts extensive media campaigns throughout the community using email, local newspapers and, most recently, local cable access stations.

• Created an E Safe email distribution list, which currently has approximately 1,000 citizens and business owners in and surrounding the city of Keller. Prior to enforcement, Keller’s Community Relations Officer sends emails to citizens informing them of the upcoming enforcement wave.

• Set up information booths at local businesses to hand out safety belt and child passenger safety restraint information to citizens during the media outreach phase of the wave periods. In November 2003, the City Council issued a proclamation declaring November “Click It or Ticket” month, during Keller’s Thanksgiving enforcement wave.

• Made presentations to community and local organizations.

• Used morning announcements at the local high schools to inform teenage drivers of the dangers of not buckling up. The officers also informed the student drivers that if they are caught not wearing a safety belt, they would receive a costly citation. Almost instantly, the police department noticed a dramatic increase in safety belt use among high school students.

• Sent out press releases to local newspapers before and after each holiday period. The local paper currently reaches over 30,000 addresses in and around Keller.

• Continued consistent enforcement on a lesser scale between major wave periods. The Keller Police Department realizes the importance of safety belt use and actively enforces safety belt and speed violations.

RESULTS

The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (ST EP) Wave achieved the following results from November 2002 to March 2004:

• Worked 296 enforcement hours

• Averaged 3.94 citations per hour for STEP elements and 5.27 citations for all enforcement actions

• Issued 237 speed citations, 891 safety belt citations, and 41 child restraint citations during STEP enforcement

• Increased safety belt use by 16.7 percent, child restraint use by 11.4 percent, and speed compliance by 24.7 percent

• Reported five speed-related crashes out of 38 crashes reported during STEP Waves