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