Bentonville Police Step Up Traffic Enforcement For Safety
By: Garret Krier
Updated: May 23, 2012
If you live in Bentonville or you drive through town then you already know that traffic problems have gotten extremely bad in certain places. Police say traffic violations there are getting out of hand so they are trying something new to fix the problem.
Police are going to saturate certain traffic trouble spots in town until violations go down. But they say it is much more than just poor driving, it could be a matter of life and death.
Tracee harding loves to take her dog whistler running near the Crystal Bridges Trail System in Bentonville.
"It is the best way to get him tired," said Harding. There ia just one problem. Tracy sometimes worries about getting hit by a car. "I noticed at the stop sign it is almost like people do not want to wait for the pedestrians.
They want to hustle. They want to get their car through before the pedestrian goes by," said Harding. But Tracy is not the only one. "We have had speeding complaints, running stop sign complaints," said Captain Mike Smith with the Bentonville Police Department. Captain Smith says the Bentonville police feel the problem is getting out of hand all over town.
"It is the best way to get him tired," said Harding. There ia just one problem. Tracy sometimes worries about getting hit by a car. "I noticed at the stop sign it is almost like people do not want to wait for the pedestrians.
They want to hustle. They want to get their car through before the pedestrian goes by," said Harding. But Tracy is not the only one. "We have had speeding complaints, running stop sign complaints," said Captain Mike Smith with the Bentonville Police Department. Captain Smith says the Bentonville police feel the problem is getting out of hand all over town.
"Absolutely. We had a motorcycle accident this weekend. 2 individuals were eastbound into town when someone turned in front of them which caused a wreck and they have life threatening injuries," said Smith.
According to Smith, a big part of the problem is that Bentonville is outgrowing its police force. "We do not have the ability to have officers at numerous locations setting every day," said Smith.
According to Smith, a big part of the problem is that Bentonville is outgrowing its police force. "We do not have the ability to have officers at numerous locations setting every day," said Smith.
The solution police came up with is to saturate certain trouble spots with as many officers as possible. "What we have done is taken people that normally do other jobs during the day and put them into these locations at different times. Guys like myself and other captains. They are all police officers. With the hope of keeping joggers and other folks like Tracee Harding safe.
"I think it is just a way to get people to stop and think. I think the reality is we are all kind of busy but it is good to think about our driving habits and how we are driving and to slow down a bit," said Harding. Captain Smith says the police do not generally write a lot of tickets.
Smith says the point is not to give someone a ticket but rather to let them know they did something wrong in the first place.
Smith says the point is not to give someone a ticket but rather to let them know they did something wrong in the first place.
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