The riskiest action of daily life for Americans is driving. More than 100 people perish every day on America’s roads. According to a Scripps Howard study, most of those deaths can be attributed to excessive speed, alcohol impairment, or failure to wear safety belts.
In 1996, the Division of Police created a Traffic Unit to specifically address these dangers. Ohio law (ORC 737.11) specifies the duties of a police force as preserving the peace, protecting persons and property, and enforcing laws and ordinances. A traffic unit helps the Division accomplish these goals as they relate to the roadways; it frees up the other patrol officers to work on responding to calls and crime suppression.
The same study identified the most dangerous roads in Medina County. The first most-dangerous, Interstate 71, and the third-most dangerous, US Route 42, pass through Brunswick. According to Metro Hospital, the number one reason for trauma admissions from Medina County were traffic crashes. For these reasons, we aggressively enforce traffic laws, including those on the Interstate. There have been no crash fatalities in the City of Brunswick since 2008. An added benefit is that traffic enforcement uncovers other crimes and criminals, since we live in such a car-centric society.
Organization
The Traffic Unit consists of a Sergeant and three Patrol Officers whose primary responsibilities are traffic enforcement and traffic-related complaints.
- The early day shift traffic officer works enforcement around school zones throughout the City and the major roadways during the morning commute.
- The late day shift traffic officer works the evening commute.
- The midnight shift traffic officer concentrates on drunk driving violations.
- The Sergeant handles administrative responsibilities, to including reviewing all OVI (operating a vehicle under the influence) and DUS (driving under suspension) arrests, vehicle/license plate seizures, juvenile traffic citations, etc, as well as also patrolling for traffic violations.
