Board approves new traffic unit for sheriff's office
EPHRATA — Hoping to reduce the number of collisions and correct unsafe driving behaviors, the Grant County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved a new rural traffic unit for the Grant County Sheriff's Office.
"Grant County had more road deaths per capita than any other county in the state last year," Commission Chair Richard Stevens said in a press release. "Failure to yield, due in large part to speed, seems to be the key factor in many of these incidents. I think this new unit will help us reduce traffic incidents and casualties on our rural roads."
The Grant County public works department provided a loan of $200,000 for start-up capital, but county officials expect the unit to generate sufficient revenues to pay back the short-term loan and cover annual costs.
"In all other areas around the state where rural traffic units have been introduced, they have proven to be self-sustaining," Chief Deputy Dave Ponozzo stated.
Ponozzo told the commissioners the program will cost $785,000, which includes $150,000 for six new vehicles and almost $50,000 for other machinery and officer equipment. Some of the program costs include hiring six new deputies, a support staff person and a district court clerk to process the traffic unit's citations.
Chief Deputy John Turley explained how Grant County hosts thousands of visitors during half the year, and how on long weekends the county's population can double or triple. The Gorge Amphitheatre in George becomes the largest city of inhabitants in Grant County, on some weekends, he said.
"How do those visitors and workers get here?" Turley asked the commissioners last week. "They drive. Having a motor traffic unit dedicated to monitoring that large influx of traffic is essential to maintaining order and safety for all of us."
Turley cited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics showing 42 percent more fatal accidents occur in rural parts of the country than on busy stretches of highways through cities and suburbs. He said the administration reports rural crashes are more likely to involve multiple deaths, and include vehicle rollovers and motorists being ejected from their vehicles.
The sheriff's office provided statistics from the National Safety Council suggesting fatal collisions cost communities an average of $1.12 million each. The council figures showed injury collisions cost communities $45,500 each and property damage collisions averaged $8,200 each.
Officers issued more citations during the summer of 2004 than 2003. They issued more citations in 2005 than 2004 during the summer months. Meanwhile, the number of collisions decreased during the same period, suggesting additional enforcement will reduce the cost of collisions to the county and its residents, according to the sheriff's office.
"The bottom line is this unit will make our road system safer and pay for itself without burdening current county revenue, I'm all for it," stated Commissioner LeRoy Allison.