NCJ Number
44724
Date Published
1976
Length
73 pages
Annotation
SIX EXPERIMENTS UNDERTAKEN OVER A 30-MONTH PERIOD BY POLICE IN EL PASO, TEX., TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ARE DESCRIBED AND EVALUATED.
Abstract
THE REPORT OPENS WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON EL PASO AND ON THE CITY'S SELECTIVE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM (STEP) PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS. ACCIDENT COUNTERMEASURES TESTED UNDER THE EL PASO STEP PROJECT DESCRIBED IN DETAIL, AS ARE EVALUATION METHODS AND FINDINGS. THE PROJECT'S FIXED-POST COUNTERMEASURES WERE FOUND DEFINITELY NOT TO BE AN EFFECTIVE USE OF TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL. THE FIXED-POST APPROACH CREATED A MORALE PROBLEM AND PRODUCED NO POSITIVE RESULTS. SOME POSITIVE RESULTS WERE OBTAINED WITH LINE PATROLS. IN THESE CASES, STEP TASK FORCE OFFICERS ESSENTIALLY SATURATED SPECIFIC STREETS, THUS EFFECTING DECREASES IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. ONE EXPERIMENT EFFECTIVELY COMBINED PUBLIC INFORMATION ACTIVITIES WITH TASK FORCE MOBILIZATION TO DECREASE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS DURING THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. THE AREA PATROL AS IMPLEMENTED BY THE STEP TASK FORCE DID NOT PROVE EFFECTIVE. SUPPLEMENTING THE POLICE COUNTERMEASURES WERE JUDICIAL CONTERMEASURES UNDERTAKEN TO STREAMLINE COURT PROCEDURES RELATED TO TRAFFIC CASES. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN TRAFFIC VIOLATION PROCESSING WAS THE EXPANSION FROM TWO MUNICIPAL COURTS TO THREE. THE EL PASO PROJECT'S EXPERIENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE INCREASE IN COURT WORKLOAD DUE TO IMPLEMENTATION OF A STEP PROJECT CAN EASILY BE OVERESTIMATED: THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL CALLED FOR SIX ADDITIONAL COURT POSITIONS, BUT ONLY TWO WERE ACTUALLY ADDED. SUPPORTING DATA ARE INCLUDED. (VA)