Anyone that drives in Hartford knows that they are taking their lives in their hands every time they travel on Hartford's streets.
Fatal traffic accidents are more than doubled over the same time last year. Hartford experienced its 19th fatal accident yesterday when a pedestrian was struck and killed on Wethersfield Avenue.
The current state of drivers in Hartford is definitely not caused by a lack of enforcement by the Hartford Police Department, and actually the numbers show a large increase by HPD this year.
Citywide as of this date, there have been over 10,335 motor vehicle traffic stops, mostly by the HPD Traffic Division. By comparison, for the same period last year, HPD conducted 7,034 traffic stops.
56% of those drivers stopped were given motor vehicle infractions and 44% were just issued written or verbal warnings.
According to HPD, their main goal is to correct driving behavior through enforcement and that doesn't always involve a monetary fine.
The HPD Traffic Division also received funding to pu8rchase an updated "speed cart" which shows drivers their speed as they approach. Currently the traffic carts are deployed in key enforcement areas as needed..
DUI enforcement also points to a serious problem with impaired drivers on Hartford's Streets. For 2018 there has been 48 DUI arrests on the Wethersfield Avenue corridor alone. as well as the many other DUI arrests City wide funded by checkpoints mad possible through State and Federal funding grants.
Despite HPD's efforts, the message clearly isn't getting out. Anyone who drives on Hartford's streets most likely has numerous stories of near misses with drivers who blow through intersections running red lights or improper passing or drivers who make right turns from the left lane. And what about the school bus violations . And I won't even get started on the Handicap parking violations. One Hartford Officer recently wrote 18 Handicap parking violations at the Washington Street CVS during one nights shift.
Although HPD is doing the best they can with limited resources and staffing, more needs to be done to stem the increase in traffic fatalities. Most of us are more at risk of being killed or injured in a traffic incident in Hartford than we do from shootings or homicides, but either way, people are being killed
7 comments:
Well Kevin.....is it true our winner of a governor removed traffic court prosecutors and I’m told that you can plead not guilty to a traffic infraction with the result being a dismissal?
I haven’t heard that, but nothing would surprise me
Hartford Officers are not allowed to chase cars/trucks/motorcycles/ or anything they can drive to get away from the police. So the direct result of that is lawlessness! They can do what they want and drive as crazy as they want, either with their registered/unregistered car or even a stolen car. The criminals know that the police can’t chase them so they drive crazier than ever before. I wouldn’t want my family or my worse enemy driving in Hartford. This is what the liberal law makers want, so congratulations on losing the roads to criminals. This City is hanging on by a thread. No safe places left. How many people crossing the street for a Yard Goates game had to dodge 20 dirt bikes and quads, with the police just watching because that’s all they can do. Enjoy!
Kev, DAMN THOSE WHITE SUBURBANITES WHO COME IN AND DESTROY THE GREAT CITY OF HARTFORD !!!
I heard the same thing. When Professor Malloy was raising taxes, closing prisons, and overall making the state less safer, he eliminated the traffic court, which was in New Britain for this area. Those who plead not guilty on the infraction have their offenses dismissed without ever leaving their homes. The prosecutors and magistrate who worked in traffic court were part time per diem employees, who received a nominal amount for their services. The state saved few dollars by eliminating this valuable service. Maybe Stefanowski, if elected, can resurrect this court.
How about installing the speed humps that have been promised by the city? I can't understand what the hold up is.
I have to disagree with the assertion that “the current state of drivers in Hartford is definitely not caused by lack of enforcement.” I live adjacent to Wethersfield Avenue just down the block from this accident. The person who was killed was my 80 year-old neighbor. I also know the woman who was burglarized just a block away on Wethersfield Avenue near Adelaide Street in your post on 9/23. Aside from the burglary, she told me of the all-night drag racing that went on that night as participants repeatedly blocked the avenue to race until 3 am, with 75 cars gathered in total. Another woman was struck down and killed about three months before at that same location. That’s not to mention two recent shootings near the same corner and the open air drug markets operating in the parking lots in front of nearby retail establishments.
I look out my window on a daily basis watching people getting in and out of cars with open bottles of beer and liquor on weekends. To say that “for 2018 there has been 48 DUI arrests on the Wethersfield Avenue corridor alone,” is in itself an admission of the insufficient enforcement in the area. The fact is that Wethersfield Avenue has been allowed to deteriorate into lawlessness for years, and while I and my neighbors can say that police have begun to respond to requests for more enforcement, there is a long way to go to bring the area under control. A permanently-stationed unmarked car and a zero-tolerance policy on speeding and the dark-tinted windows of the drug dealers would be a start.
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