Hopkinsville/Christian County
Community Traffic Safety Program
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KENTUCKY
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PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS |
PROGRAM AREA(S) |
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Extensive media coverage |
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Safe Communities |
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Strong enforcement component |
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Occupant Protection |
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TYPE OF JURISDICTION |
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County |
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TARGETED POPULATION(S) |
JURISDICTION SIZE |
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General Population |
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50,000 |
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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
The motor vehicle crash rate for Christian
County, Kentucky was 431 per 100 million motor vehicle miles (MVM) in 1993nearly
double the statewide rate of 222 per 100 million MVM for that year. In 1994,
the county ranked second in the state in fatal crashes for its population
category and ranked third in speed-related and alcohol-related crashes.
Hopkinsville, the largest city in Christian County, ranked first in speed-related
crashes and second in alcohol-related crashes in the county. Compounding
these alarming statistics was the fact that the safety belt use rate in
Hopkinsville during 1994 was only 44.3 percent.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In an effort to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes throughout Christian
County, the Hopkinsville/Christian County Community Traffic Safety Program
(CTSP) was developed in 1995. Specific objectives for the program included:
- Reducing the average number of crashes by
15 percent per year
- Reducing the number of alcohol-related crashes
by 15 percent per year
- Reducing the number of speed-related crashes
by 15 percent per year
- Increasing the safety belt use rate in Christian
County to 75 percent by the end of 1995
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Hopkinsville/Christian County CTSP was developed by the Hopkinsville
Police Department and involved two primary strategies: increased enforcement
of moving violations and community education.
Enforcement activities were coordinated through the Traffic Enforcement
Team (TET), a partnership of the five major law enforcement agencies in
the county (including the Fort Campbell Military Police). Enforcement activities
were scheduled as quarterly campaignsdesignated as Zero Tolerance Weekin
order to control use of scarce local resources and to encourage voluntary
compliance through planned, well-advertised activities. The TET concentrated
its efforts in high crash rate areas of the community, and intensified normal
enforcement activities through blanket patrols and at sobriety checkpoints.
During each Zero Tolerance Week, written warnings were minimized and citations
maximized. However, officers issuing any written warning during Zero Tolerance
Week wrote the amount of the fine on the ticket to clearly illustrate the
cost involved in noncompliance.
The Community Traffic Safety Advisory Council was formed to provide community
input into program activities, and serve as a partner in developing media
coverage and providing community education. Through this partnership among
the community participants and the law enforcement agencies, strategies
were developed to alert the public to upcoming patrol activities by using
public service announcements, newspaper articles and bulletins. In addition,
the founding partner in this effort, the Hopkinsville Police Department,
developed an intensive community outreach effort, targeting local schools
with educational materials and programs such as Project Graduation, Tie
One On, Ghost Out, Safe and Sober, and Kentucky's Get StupidGet Busted campaign.
RESULTS
During 1996, the TET generated 8,733
contacts leading to 166 DUI arrests, 561 safety belt citations, and 1,146
hazardous moving violations. The Hopkinsville Police Department provided
225 educational programs to approximately 135,000 people. During the quarterly
Zero Tolerance Week activities, 1,565 citations were issued (880 for speeding),
and the average area daily crash rate decreased by 11 percent. In comparison
with the previous 4- year average, the initial year of the CTSP (1995) achieved
a 15.7 percent reduction in traffic crashes. In 1996, the crash rate was
reduced 5.2 percent further. An observational survey conducted in Hopkinsville
in 1996 revealed a safety belt usage rate of 63.6 percent, compared to 44.3
percent in 1994 and 50 percent in 1995. |
FUNDING |
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Section 402: |
$109,331 |
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Local: |
$58,086 |
CONTACT |
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Sergeant D.E. Cunningham
Highway Safety Officer
Hopkinsville Police Department
112 West First Street
Hopkinsville, KY
(502) 887-4030 |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |
Spring 1997 |