Problem Statement: Our Roadways. (END). 11/30/06.

Transcription

1 ProblemStatement: TheroadwaysinSouthCarolinaareconsideredtobethefifteenthdeadliestintheUnitedStates. 1 A trafficcollisionisreportedevery4.7minutesandatrafficrelateddeathisreportedevery8.2hours. Someonesuffersanonfataltrafficinjuryevery10.8minutes. 2 Thestatisticsarestaggeringespecially withalcoholordrugrelatedtrafficcollisions.southcarolinaforthepastthreeyearshasbeenincluded inthefatalfifteen,whichiscompiledbythephysicianledtrafficsafetyadvocacygroupcalledend NeedlessDeathonOurRoadways(END).TheFatalFifteenarestatesinwhich41percentormoreofall trafficfatalitiesarealcoholrelated. 3 Driving undertheinfluenceofalcoholordrugswasacontributing factorinover370 fatalcollisions,accordingtothescdepartmentofpublicsafety spreliminarystatistics for2007.thesecollisionskilledmorethan410persons.thepreliminarystatisticsalsoindicatethat morethan4,800alcoholrelatedcollisionswerereportedfor2007resultingininjuriesofmorethan 3,500persons. 4 AndersonCounty,whichislocatedinthenorthwestcornerofSouthCarolina,isrankedeighthamong thefortyfivecountiesinsouthcarolinaforthenumberoffatalandsevereinjurycrashesthatweredui relatedfrom Inthelastfiveyears( ),92peopleinAndersonCountyhavelost theirlivesduetoalcoholordrugrelatedtrafficaccidents.theroadwaysinthecountyarebecoming increasinglyfatalduetodui 6 relatedcrashes.thepreviousfiveyears( )resultedin63 personskilled.therefore,twentyninemorepeoplewerekilledinalcoholordrugrelatedcrashes between then Fatalities by State. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov Collision Statistics Highway Safety Funding Guideline. Page Fatal Fifteen Press Release issued by the physician-led traffic safety advocacy group End Needless Death on Our Roadways. (END). 11/30/06. 4 Alcohol Involvement in Collisions Highway Safety Funding Guidelines. Page 3. 5 South Carolina Fatal & Severe Injury Crashes Highway Funding Guidelines. Page In this paper the terms DWI and DUI are used synonymously and refer to both drugs and alcohol. 7 Total Killed in Alcohol-Related Crashes by County. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). wwwfars.nhtsa.dot.gov/states/statesalcohol.aspx

2 AndersonCountyisconsistentlyrankedamongthetoptenworstcountiesinSouthCarolinainregards toalcoholordrugrelatedcrashes.twentyfivepersonskilledin2004causedthecountytobethe5 th worstinthestatefortrafficcollisionsinvolvingalcoholordrugs.in2005thedeathtolldecreasedto18, however,whencomparingtheamountto2003,excluding2004whichwassignificantlyhigherthanthe yearsbeforeandafter,thereisstillanincreaseof20%.therewasalsoanincreaseintheamountof injuriessustainedinalcoholordrugrelatedtrafficcollisionsin Refertothefollowingtable: TrafficAccidentsInvolvingAlcoholorDrugs Calendar Year 2002 Calendar Year 2003 Calendar Year 2004 CalendarYear 2005 Calendar Year 2006 Total#ofCrashes #ofpersonskilled #ofpersonsinjured RankforTotalADRC 10 7 th worst 7 th worst 7 th worst 10 th worst RankforPersonsKilled RankforPersonsInjured 9 th worst 8 th worst(?) 6 th worst 7 th worst 5 th worst 8 th worst 9 th worst 8 th worst Inadditiontothedismalstatisticsregardingalcoholordrugrelatedcrashes,AndersonCountyalsohas anextremelyhighincidenceofoveralltrafficcollisions.in2005,andersoncountyranked8 th worstin 8 South Carolina Traffic Collision Fact Book 2002, 2003, 2004 and South Carolina Department of Public Safety. Pages 75,75, 75, and 75 respectively. 9 Fatalities by State. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov 10 ADRC Alcohol or/and Drug Related Crashes

3 regardstothetotalnumberoftrafficcollisions.andersoncountywasthe5 th worstcountyinthestate forfatalcollisionsin2005,thecountywasranked8 th in2004.therewasanincreaseof10.3%inthe numberofpeoplekilledin2005comparedto2004.notethefollowingtable,whichliststhetotal numberofallcollisionsforandersoncountyfrom CY2002 CY2003 CY2004 CY2005 CrashesinStateofSouthCarolina 108, , , ,983 CrashesinAndersonCounty 4,348 4,177 4,152 4,080 AndersonCounty spercentofallcrashesinsc 4.02% 3.83% 3.77% 3.64% AverageofAllCounties 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% DifferenceFromAverageofAllCounties 82.7% 74.1% 71.4% 65.5% TotalCrashDeathsinAndersonCounty AverageDeathsperCounty CountyDeathsDifferenceFromAverage 83.4% Higher 53.5% Higher 68.1% Higher 97.2% Higher RankofCountyforTotalCrashDeaths 8 th worst 7 th worst 8 th worst 5 th worst Since2003,fourmorepeopleeveryyeararebeingkilledintrafficaccidentsinAndersonCounty.During 2002,2003,2004,and2005,thecountyofAndersonaveragedbetween65.5%(in2005)and82.7%(in 2002)morecrashesthantheaverageforallothercountiesinthestate.Theaverageofcrashesand deathsoccurringinthecountyissignificantlyhigherthantheaveragepereachcountyinthestate.the averageofpersonskilledinthecountyrangesfrom53.5%higher(in2003)to97.2%higher(in2005) comparedtotheaverageofdeathspercounty.andersoncountyhasconsistentlyrankedinthetopten worstcountiesforthetotalnumberofcrashessince Anincreaseintrafficcollisionssince1991isasignificantproblemfortheCityofAnderson.Anderson CityislocatedinoneofthefastestgrowingareasofupstateSouthCarolinaandisthecountyseatand thelargestcityonthei85corridorbetweengreenville,southcarolinaandatlanta,georgia.thecityis situatedroughlyhalfwaybetweenatlanta,georgiaandcharlotte,northcarolina3mileseastofthe interstate.accordingtotheunitesstates2006censusthepopulationofthecityofandersonis26,242 butduetoadailyinfluxofpeople,thepopulationofthecityfrequentlyswellstoashighas110, Thecitycoversapproximately14squaremilesandcontains203milesoflinearroadwayon520streets and roads. 14 Individuals come into Anderson from the surrounding counties in South Carolina and northeast Georgia to work, transact business, and shop at the many outlets as well as the mall. AndersonCitycontainscity,county,andstategovernmentoffices,andafederalcourthouse.Economic growthonthenorthendoftownhasresultedinanincreaseinthenumberofestablishmentsthatserve alcohol. Two high schools are located just outside of town. Westside High School is on Highway 28 and T.L. HannaHighSchoolisonHighway81.Theseschoolshaveapproximately3,000attendees,mostofwhich 11 South Carolina Traffic Collision Fact Book 2002, 2003, 2004, and Pages 81,81,82, and 82 respectively. 12 South Carolina Traffic Collision Fact Book 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and Pages 85, 85, 81, 81, 82 and 82 respectively Population Estimate. US Census Bureau City of Anderson Police Department Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report. Page 3.

4 liveinthecity.thestudentpopulationsofthesetwoschoolscontributedisproportionatelytothecity s collisionrate. Previous research (on the national level) indicates a strong correlation between DWI collisions and personsbetweentheagesof17and34,especiallywhitemales.also,thereisafurthercorrelationwith the hours of 6:00 p.m. through 2:00 a.m. for DWIs and DWI related traffic collisions. Both of those theoriesholdtrueformanyofthedwirelatedcrashesinandersoncity. 15 Duetoitsproximitytotwo major fouryear colleges the city frequently has an artificially inflated youth population on the weekends. Clemson University, located 20 minutes from the city, and Anderson University, situated withinanderson scitylimits,contributesignificantlytotheexcessiveweekendnightlypopulationofthe city,thusartificiallyboostingthecity syouthpopulationinthoseareasfrequentedbycollegestudents. ThecityhasexpandedsubstantiallytowardInterstate85andalongwiththeexpansiontherehasbeena tremendousincreaseinthenumberofestablishmentsthatservealcoholicbeverages,thusexasperating the drunk and drugged driving problem. Currently, vehicle crashes with a probable cause of driving undertheinfluenceofalcoholordrugsimpactthecommunityinanegativeway.thefollowingtable describesandersoncity sproblemwithalcoholordrugrelatedcrashesforthelastsixyears: FY 2007 FY 2006 FY 2005 FY 2004 FY 2003 FY 2002 DispatchedWreckCalls InvestigativeReports PossibleAlcoholor/andDrugRelatedCrashes PossibleAlcoholor/andDrugRelatedInjuries Althoughthenumberofcrashesthatarepotentiallyrelatedtoalcoholordrugshavedecreasedsince 2002, the frequency is still much too high for the size of the town and the population. The city s estimatedalcoholordrugrelatedcrashrateisapproximately11.45per1000population.theanderson PoliceDepartmentbelievesthatmorewrecksarealcoholordrugrelatedthanarecurrentlyreportedas such. Historically,inAndersonCity,arrestsforDUIandcitationsforotherviolationscorrelatedwithcrashes have occurred at a level that is insufficient to affect the overall crash rate. Although DUI arrests sometimesincrease,theincreaseisrarelymaintainedanddoesnotaffectthecrashrate.forexample, in2004thenumberofduiarrestsincreasedby16%comparedto2003,however,thenumberofwrecks alsoincreasedby3.6%.althoughthegrowthinthenumberofcrashesfluctuates,overtimethetrendis upward.since2002,thearrestsforduichargeshaveincreased;however,thenumbersareinsufficient toimpacttheexcessivenumberofmotoristswhooperatevehicleswhileintoxicated.forthatreason the collision rate generally continues to climb. Considerthe following chart that depicts the sixyear rollingaveragegrowthrateofduiarrestsandwreckcallstowhichtrafficofficersweredispatchedin AndersonCitythroughFiscalYear2007: 15 This was a non-scientific study. 16 Includes all wrecks and hit & runs combined. 17 Number provided by City of Anderson Police Department Records Division. 18 Theoretically, approximately 23% of all traffic crashes documented in written reports were alcohol or drug related. 19 Theoretically, there are approximately 0.91 injuries for each alcohol or drug related crash.

5 Thereare45establishmentslocatedonthenorthendofAndersonthatservealcoholicbeverages.An estimated13,222adultpersonsleaveimpairedfromtheseestablishmentsbetweenthehoursof18:00 and 02:00 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Roughly 31% of the restaurant/bar patrons consumedthreeormorealcoholicdrinksduringthatperiod. 20 Thisconsumptionisinadditiontoany consumptionthat mayhaveoccurred atanyother location(s).theaffected roadwayconsistsofless thantenmilesofasphalt.baseduponthisanalysisweinferthatduringanysinglehourbetween6:00 p.m.and2:00a.m.fromthursdaytosundaymorning,therearepotentially555dwiviolatorsontheten milesofroadwayinthenorthernsectionofandersoncity.itaveragesouttobe55potentiallyimpaired driverspermilepertargethour.notethesteadyincreaseindwiapprehensionsinthecityofanderson duringthelast34years: 20 This study was conducted through polling and observation. The Impairment rate was based upon adults who had 3 or more drinks before leaving the establishment.

6 Asthechartindicates,aphenomenontookplaceaftertheperiodof Thatistheperiod thatsawthehighestlevelofeconomicexpansioninthecityinmanydecades.togetabetterpictureof thescopeandmagnitudeoftheproblemwecalculateda fiveyearrollingaverage oftheyearly numberofduiarrestsfor Notethefollowing: Asindicatedbytheabovechart,thefiveyearrollingaveragenumberofDUIarrestshasincreased330% from22.2peryearin1978to95.4in2001.afurtherinvestigationindicatesthat1992wasacritical year. The number of annual DUI arrests increased significantly after That coincides with the

7 economicgrowthandthedevelopmentofalcoholservingestablishmentsonthenorthendofanderson City,indicatingthatisprobablywherethebulkoftheproblembegins. Inadditiontoanabundanceofavailablealcohol,theCityofAndersonaswellasthesurroundingcities andtownshavevirtuallyanytypeofillicitdrugavailableupondemandduetotheaccessoftheareabya major interstate and the city's location near a major illicit drug manufacturing area. Cocaine, crack, marijuana, methamphetamines, and other types of drugs are readily available for purchase by individualswhoarefamiliarwiththelocalcontactswhoactasgobetweensinthetransactions.drug useincreasedsubstantiallyduringthedecadeofthe1990s.thisaddstothedwiproblem.tofurther exasperatetheproblemforeverydwiarrested,threeothersarecontactedfacetofacebypolice,but arenotarrested. 21 CurrentResourcesandPrograms TheCityofAndersonPoliceDepartment sjurisdictionservesapproximately26,242cityresidentswithin anareathatisapproximately14.9squaremilesandcontains203milesoflinearroadwayon520streets androads. 22 Thedepartmentservesaresidentialpopulationof26,120.TheCityofAndersonPolice Departmentconsistsof91swornofficers.Currentlythepolicedepartmentdoesnothaveadesignated TrafficDivision.PatrolOfficersareresponsibleforrespondingtocriminalandtrafficcallsforservice. Therefore,duetothehighvolumeofwrecksandcriminalactivityintheCityofAndersontheofficers haveminimaltimeforproactivetrafficenforcement. Duringthefiscalyear2006(July1,2005 June30,2006)theCityofAndersonPoliceDepartment answered39,081callsforservice,documented4,726criminalincidentreports,respondedto1,793 wreckcalls(1,589accidentsand204hit&runs),made2,748criminalcharges,wrote209parking tickets,andissued6,654trafficcitations.patrolofficersinitiated7,260trafficstops.thesestopswere inadditiontostopsinitiatedduringtrafficsafetypoints,accidents,orcrimesinprogress.totaltraffic stopswere8,611infy2006comparedto8,034infy DuringtheFiscalYearof2007(July1,2006 June30,2007)theCityofAndersonPoliceDepartment answered64,337callsforservice,documented5,075incidentreports,respondedto1,630traffic crashes(1,440wrecksand190hit&runs),made2,410criminalcharges,wrote470parkingtickets,and issued7,133trafficcitations.thenumberofcitationsissuedwas271.8per1000population.the numberofwreckreportswrittenper1000populationis55.andersoncitypatrolofficersinitiated8,173 trafficstops,inaddition,tostopsinitiatedduringtrafficsafetypoints,accidents,orcrimesinprogress. Thisisanincreaseof913trafficstops(12.6%)fromthe7,260documentedstopsinFY2006andreflects officers abilitytoconcentrateonpublicsafetyissueswhilesimultaneouslydecreasingviolentcrime. 24 Overthepastsixteenyears,trafficticketswereupfromtheirpriornumbersandresearchhasindicated that,overtime,theissuanceoftrafficcitationsinajurisdictioniscorrelatednegativelywithtraffic accidents.however,a criticalmass mustbereached(i.e.aminimumnumberofcitationsmustbe 21 DUI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (Student Manual). South Carolina Department of Public Safety Traffic Safety Unit. February Page II Population Estimate. US Census Bureau City of Anderson Police Department Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report. Pages City of Anderson Police Department Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report. Pages 2-3.

8 issuedbeforeanyeffectonaccidentsisexhibited).duetotheofficersspendingmoretimeworking accidentsthanproactivetrafficmanagement,this criticalmass hasnotbeenmet. Thenumberoftrafficcitationsissuedhasincreasedoverthelastthreeyears,asindicatedbythechart below. TrafficCitationsIssuedFromCalendarYear1991 FiscalYear ThenextchartdemonstratesthehistoricaltrendforwrecksAndersonCity.Asdepicted,FY07dispatched trafficcrashcallsweremuchlowerthanthe1998highof2,094.

9 Thetrafficmanagementmodelissubstantiallysimilartothecriminalmodel.Justascriminalscommit virtuallyallcrime,justaboutallaccidentsaretheresultofoneormoremotoristscommittingsomesort ofviolation(s).themotoristswhocommitthemostviolationsarethepersonswhoaremostlikelyto achievepersonalrecognition.inaddition,themotoristswhoreceivethemostticketscouldbeinferred to be the ones who commit the most violations and are therefore most likely to have the most accidents.thispremiseissubstantiatedbyastudyconductedbyaprivateinsurancecompanywhich determined that California drivers with one speeding citation in a threeyear period had a crash rate 50%higher,onaverage,thanthosewithnoinfractions. 25 Thecrashratemorethandoubledforthose whohadtwoormoretickets. 26 Whenofficersidentifyandrecognizemotorists violations(byissuing citations)themotoristswhoreceivethecitation(s)generallyimprovetheirdriving atleasttemporarily. A study of Ontario traffic statistics, that was reported to have been published in the British medical journal the Lancet, found that a conviction for a moving violation cut the risk of a fatal crash in the followingmonthby35%. The department attempts to facilitate its traffic management programs by analyzing and evaluating wrecksinanefforttodeterminewhenandwhereaccidentsoccurandhowtobestallocateresources. To determine when accidents occur, an analysis was performed to determine the variation in the numberoftrafficcrashesacrossmonths,weekdays,andhoursoftheday.thisstudyisprovidedasan exampleofhowvarioustypesofanalysesarecontinuallyutilizedtoassistmanagementinthedayto dayallocationofhumanresources. 25 Study cited in an article dated 26 Study cited in an article dated Study referred to was conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute.

10 Inadditiontoanalyzingcrashdatabymonth,thedepartmentalsoanalyzesweekdays.Fridaysshowed the highest frequency of accidents during FY07. The following chart indicates the daily averages for dispatchedcallsforserviceregardingtrafficaccidentsinthecityofandersonforfy07.

11 Asthepreviouschartindicates,theperiodfrom3:00p.m.to3:59p.m.showedthehighestnumberof accidents for each one of the 24hour periods spread across the entire 365 days of FY07. The early morninghoursof04:00to04:59arethe slowest timesforaccidents.atabout07:00,thefrequencyof accidentsincreasesdramaticallyandisconsistentwiththetypicalscheduleofcityresidents.mostof theseaccidentsaremotoristscommutingtoandfromworkorschool. Thedayofweekcharttakeninconjunctionwiththehourlychartwouldleadonelogicallytoassume that,overall,thehighestfrequencyofaccidentsforanyonehouroftheweekduringfy07wouldhave beenonfridaysfrom3:00 3:59pm. 27 Whilevirtuallyallaccidentsarecausedbyatleastonemotoristcommittingaviolation,weinferthat DWI violators are more likely than sober motorists to take unreasonable chances and commit more violations(onaverage)thansoberdriversandtherebycontributedisproportionatelytothefatalcrash statistics.thecityofandersonpolicedepartmentbelievesasignificantportionofthecollisionsinthe city are alcohol or drug related and that if the department can enhance its traffic enforcement (addressing specifically Alcohol Countermeasures and other moving violations that are strongly correlatedwithaccidents),itcanincreasethenumberofdwiapprehensionsaswellasmovingcitations anddrivedowntheoverallcollisionratefortheentirecounty.thenumberofdwiarrestsandcitations formovingviolationsmustincreaseatamuchfasterratethantheyhaveinthepastinorderto drive down thecorrelatedcollisionrate.bytargetingviolationssuchasspeeding,disregardingstoplights andsigns,failuretoyieldrightofway,followingtooclosely,andrestraintviolations,thecitybelieves thatitcanaffectapositivechangeinthenumberofcrashesoccurringinboththecityandthecounty. WilliamstonandIvasharethesameconcept. 27 Data obtained from Investigative Reports written for FY 2007.

12 The following chart depicts the top ten Primary Contributing Factors connected to drivers in traffic crashesforthecalendaryear PrimaryContributingFactors Fatal AllCrashes DrivingtoofastforConditions ,533 FailtoYieldRightofWay ,265 Distracted/Inattention 36 10,722 FollowedTooClosely 4 7,997 ImproperLaneUsage/Change 17 6,027 DisregardingSigns,Signals 47 5,953 OtherImproperAction 10 4,445 UndertheInfluence 155 4,294 Unknown 28 3,543 MadeanImproperTurn 3 2,392 TOTAL ,171 TheCityofAndersonPoliceDepartmenthasconductedastudytodeterminetheroadsthataremost likelytobelistedoncollisionreports.thetwoworstroadscoincidewiththelocationsthathavethe most establishments that serve alcohol. The following chart compares the city s per mile average wrecksonitsroadways: 28 South Carolina Traffic Collision Fact Book Page 10.

13 ClemsonBoulevardistheprimaryrouteintothecityfromInterstate85.Thereareapproximately1.05 milestothissectionoftheroad.southofthatpoint(thesameroad)isnorthmainstreetwith2.4miles ofroadway.thesecondmajorrouteintoandoutofthecityiseastgreenvillestreet(alsoknownas Highway81).Thereare2.9milesofEastGreenvilleStreetinthecitylimits.Thesetworoadwayshave anextremelyhighpermilecollisionrate.theaveragenumberofwreckspermileofcityroadwayis9.5. The TopTwelveWorstRoadways inthecityofandersonconsistof20.05milesofroadwayandhavea yearlyaverageof70.4wreckspermile.clemsonboulevardandnorthmainstreet(thelocationsfor mostofthealcoholservingestablishmentsandareasthatarefrequentedbyyoungsters)have343.8and 130.8wreckspermileyearly.EastGreenvilleStreethasapproximately61.4wreckspermileyearly. 29 Conclusion Thealcoholordrugrelatedtrafficfatalitydeathrateforthecountyandthetrafficcollisionratewithin thecityarehighandthetrendhastypicallybeensubstantiallyabovetheaverage.furthermore,the numberofdwiarrestshassteadilyincreasedsince1974butarestillatanineffectiverate.byincreasing thenumberofapprehensionsofdwiandothertypesofviolators,thecityshouldbeabletoaffecta decreaseincitywidetrafficcrashesandalcoholordrugrelatedfatalitiesaswellascountywidealcoholor drugrelatedtrafficfatalities. EventhoughDWIarrestshaveincreasedinthecity,theyarestillfartoolowtoaffectapositivechange inpeople sbehaviorandtherebydecreasethecity sandcounty sdwirelatedcollisionanddeathrates. TheDUITrafficUnitwillenactaneducationalprogramwithwhichtoeducatethepublic,especiallyhigh schoolstudents,aboutthedangersofdrinkinganddriving.thefocusoftheunitistoprovide instructionandeducationandfollowupwithanaggressiveenforcementcomponent. 29 City of Anderson Police Department fiscal year 2000 Annual Report (Addendum). Page 14.

14 TheCityofAndersoniscurrentlyunabletoincreaseeffortsfortrafficenforcementandDUIdetection, therebymakingitnecessarytoseekoutsidefunding.theexistinglevelofresourcesavailable without outsidefundingisinadequatetoincreasedwiarrestsandcitationsformovingviolations.withthe seedmoney fromthescdps/ohs,thecityofandersonpolicedepartmentwillbeenabledtoestablish averyproactiveduitrafficunit.thesheriffofandersoncountyhassignedalawenforcement AssistanceAgreementwiththeAndersonCityPoliceDepartment. 30 Thisagreementwillprovidethe grantfundedofficersjurisdictionthroughoutandersoncounty.therefore,duitrafficunitwillbeable topositivelyimpacttrafficenforcementinallareasofthecounty. 30 Letter of Support from David Crenshaw, Sheriff of Anderson County