Police Snare Motorists In Traffic Enforcement Project

By Andrew Gorosko

As part of the current nationwide “Click It or Ticket” seatbelt compliance enforcement campaign, town police, plus police from four other law enforcement agencies, on Monday issued 59 violations to errant motorists for a variety of traffic violations.

The seatbelt compliance project is supported by traffic enforcement grant money.

Four Newtown police officers participated, as did one police officer each from Redding, Bethel, Brookfield, and state police.

The project got underway near the intersection of Wasserman Way and the Exit 11 ramps of Interstate 84 at 7 am. For 2½ hours police watched for traffic offenses, issuing 15 violations there.

Police issued nine written enforcements for motorists driving without using seatbelts, five written enforcements for using handheld cellphones while driving, and a one written warning for a broken windshield.

The category “written enforcement” includes infraction tickets and written warnings.

Police then moved to Church Hill Road, where they set up enforcement from 10 am to noon, and again from 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Police positioned themselves on Church Hill Road, just east of its intersection with Queen Street. They issued 44 violations there.

Police issued 29 written enforcements to motorists who were not wearing seatbelts, 12 written enforcements for using handheld cellphones while driving, one infraction ticket for driving without a license, one infraction ticket for having no front marker plate, and one written warning for improperly tinted automotive windows.

In staging the enforcement project on Church Hill Road, police positioned motorcycle patrol Officer Steve Ketchum next to his motorcycle on Queen Street near the west entrance to Eton Center, and placed Sergeant Douglas Wisentaner in a dark SUV with tinted glass in a driveway on Church Hill Road, near its intersection with The Boulevard.

Both men were on the lookout for obvious traffic violators, which they would then call in via a two-way radio to police stationed on Church Hill Road, near the north entrance to Eton Center. Those police would then investigate the violations as the motorists appeared.

During the Memorial Day holiday weekend, police will have additional roving patrols on local roads seeking out intoxicated drivers as part of a drunken driving enforcement program.

During the past two months, town police have heightened their traffic law enforcement, focusing their efforts on speeding, aggressive driving, and distracted driving. The expanded enforcement comes in response to public calls increased control of traffic problems.