Sedona AZ Chief of Police Charles Husted
Sedona AZ – The Sedona Police Department has launched a new traffic enforcement effort with support from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
“The work is already underway, with more to come in the year ahead,” says Sedona Police Chief Charles Husted. “The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has awarded us two grants totaling $29,000. One grant pays for overtime to enforce and participate in Driving Under the Influence details. Other funds will support proactive traffic enforcement, speed trailer displays and the purchase of several LIDAR units.”
LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure speed. LIDAR is becoming the standard for law enforcement departments worldwide because of its accuracy and efficiency.
Speeding is one of the main causes of traffic incidents. Researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that in 2017, speeding killed 9,717 people and accounted for 26 percent of all traffic fatalities that year. The consequences of speeding include greater potential for loss of vehicle control; increased stopping distance after the driver perceives a danger; and, increased degree of crash severity leading to more severe injuries and fatalities. In 2017, the most recent year for which data are available, drunk driving was responsible for 29 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities, claiming 10,874 lives; of those lives, 220 were of children age 14 and younger.
In October 2019, the Sedona Police Department responded to 45 traffic accidents, cited 13 people for DUI, and made 298 traffic stops. In addition to new equipment and officer overtime, the new grants from the Arizona Governor’s Office will fund one saturation patrol each quarter through June 2020 and a multi-agency safety and enforcement patrol during the 2020 spring break period.
For more information on the Sedona Police Department and its vision of Selfless Service for All, visit sedonaaz.gov/pd.
For more information on the Arizona Governor’s Office for Highway Safety visit https://gohs.az.gov/.
