Drivers in Antioch for the first time in more than two years may get a traffic ticket if they are not obeying the speed limit, stop signs or traffic lights after the police department re-launched its traffic unit Thursday.
A dedicated traffic officer will focus solely on traffic laws and on the first day of enforcement, 15 tickets were written with 2-warnings given. One person was clocked on radar going 62-mph in a 35-mph zone on Lone Tree Way.
According to Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando, the unit will grow from one officer to as many as four as staffing is increased–other specialized units will also grow with staffing. Before the unit was disbanded a few years ago, the unit was a 4-man team performing traffic enforcement.
Cantando says the focus will be all over town in various hot spots to raise awareness to get people to slow down and follow the traffic laws.
“I am happy we are able to replenish our traffic unit to proactively enforce traffic violations throughout our city,” said Cantando. “It will help prevent accidents and keep people safe.”
Cantando called the cuts more than two years ago extremely hard to do away with, but necessary to address the calls for service as the dedicated traffic unit was disbanded in order to respond to citizen calls.
“A traffic unit reduces speeders who produce accidents and I believe having a proactive presence that the public sees on a daily basis reinforces a police presence,” said Cantando.
According to the latest traffic statistics provided at the May 12 City Council meeting:
- 291 accidents with no injury
- 77 accidents with injury
- 55 DUI’s
- 4 DUI Felony
- 2 Traffic fatalities
Overall, there have been 451 traffic calls for service which is down 2.2% from 2014 for the first 3-months of the year.
10 comments
Thank goodness! I’m so tired of people running lights and cutting into lanes from turning lanes. I actually feel like I have to drive on the defense sometimes! Should the powers that be read ECT, might I suggest the intersection of Somersville and Delta Fair and the intersection of Buchanan Road and Contra Loma?
I hope they go to 10th & L st in the afternoons to get all those cars going straight in the right turn only lane.
In the last few weeks I have seen so many skid marks all over the streets, drivers are going crazy out there.
I am just so glad to see this unit start up again I will be happy with everything they do. We have seen them on Buchanan a lot in one day. Thanks to all of you.
Nicole, you should always be defensive while driving. Does this county not know this? Is this why this county sucks so badly at driving?
Excellent. I hope the PD is ready for all the false racism claims for being pulled over.
Do you not realize that that comment in itself is racist?
Do you not realize that that comment is pointless?
Good comeback! You must have gone to school out here. Have a good one, dude.
Yeah “dude” same to you.
Yawn.
Really? Up to 4? Antioch needs much more traffic enforcement than that – 4 officers couldn’t begin to be enough of a threat for people to even be worried. If an officer can sit in a parking lot for a half hour on his phone he can damn well pull over a traffic offender and help supplement his salary. Think of the revenue that could be created to hire even more officers if they all filled in.
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