Westport Police: Fewer Accidents in Town, Not More

Westport Police say although it may seem like there has been an increase in the number of motor vehicle accidents in town in recent weeks, based on media reports, the number of accidents has in fact decreased compared to previous years.

“In recent weeks numerous comments have been posted on several local news blogs regarding the seeming increase in motor vehicle accidents on Town of Westport roads,” Westport Police said in a release issued yesterday.

The release goes on to state that, “Since calendar year 2001 through the end of calendar year 2010 the number of reported motor vehicle accidents has decreased by a little over 22 percent.”

What’s more, “The number of motor vehicle accidents that have resulted in personal injury to one or more vehicle occupants has dropped by 52 percent."

The release also states that traffic “enforcement activity has increased by 173 percent in the same period with an increase in the number stopped every year.”

Police say the perception that there is an increase in the number of accidents is based on the media’s increased ability to report them.

“What has changed is the number of ‘on-the-spot’ news blogs today as opposed to the twice-weekly print media of a decade ago, providing a visible reminder to all motorists to pay attention and obey traffic laws,” police said.

Police said they review motor vehicle accident data regularly and noted that “nearly one third of all accidents occur somewhere on the Post Road – no surprise given the high volume of traffic combined with numerous shopping centers, intersections and driveways.”

“The majority of these accidents are caused by operators who follow too closely or fail to grant the right of way (whether turning into or out of a driveway),” police said. “Selective enforcement is performed in areas with high accident frequency when possible as well as in areas where the public requests it. For speeding complaints the Police Department uses various tools to verify the problem, however there are not nearly enough of them to go around.”

Police said “there are no quotas set for any officer,” and that “whether or not a driver is ticketed or warned is left to the discretion of the police officer.”

“Every officer is responsible for patrolling his or her beat and handling calls for service in addition to enforcing traffic laws,” police said. “Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement where traffic safety is concerned – both in enforcement and in education regardless of the statistical information.”