The Traffic Division is staffed by five
officers. Patrolmen Richard White, Gary Medsger, Michael P. Thomas,
David Young and Albert
Elway are assigned full time to the division and are the officers that traffic
violators are most likely to encounter. They utilize three Harley Davidson
motorcycles as well as marked, and unmarked patrol cars. The Traffic Division has several
duties such as Traffic Law Enforcement, Accident Investigations & Reconstruction,
Traffic Studies, Truck Weight Enforcement, and Commercial Vehicle Inspections. |
The Police Department receives
numerous complaints concerning traffic violations, mainly stop sign and
speeding violations throughout the residential neighborhoods of Ross
Township. This is a top priority for the Traffic Division as it is one
of the most important concerns of the citizens and it provides the
Police Department with high visibility in the neighborhoods. Showing the
residents that we share their concerns and are willing to take the
appropriate action greatly enhances public relations. This is handled in
a timely, professional manner on a continuing basis, not just a one time
appearance. |
With 305 reportable accidents
and 636 non-reportable accidents in Ross Township for 2006, it is almost
a full time job just keeping up with the accident reports. Generally, a two
car reportable accident takes approximately two hours for the reporting officer.
At the scene this involves rendering first aid, gathering information and
directing traffic. Later at the station, the officer must enter the information
for the state accident form into the computer and prepare a diagram. Hopefully
all the information is available at the scene but in many cases it is not.
Then the officer may need to make several phone calls or even visit the hospital
to obtain the necessary information. If the accident is DUI related, the issues
involved are compounded and the time for handling these situations is usually
doubled. If the accident results in death or serious bodily injury, the Traffic
Division must do a reconstruction by highly trained officers involving many
man hours due to the extent of the investigation and inspection of the vehicles
along with lengthy reports and diagrams. It is imperative that the report
be completed in a timely fashion because of the great inconvenience caused
by delays in obtaining a rental car if necessary or dealing with the insurance
companies who will not act without the police report. |
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Many times citizens will petition a commissioner or present a petition to the Police Department requesting stop signs be installed or removed, No Parking or handicapped signs erected, speed limits be changed or other traffic control devices be implemented. To meet the requests of the citizens, the Traffic Division must conduct traffic studies in the area and research the situation. The assigned officer(s) may use speed timing devices such as Acutrak, ESP, VASCAR or Radar or possibly count vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic and measure sight distances. The officer must then prepare and submit a detailed traffic safety report making his recommendations to the Chief, Township Manager and the Ward Commissioner advising them of his findings. Sign and speed limit changes on local roadways are made by ordinance changes. Changes requested on state roadways must be approved by Penn-DOT. In 2002, with the assistance of the Ross Board of Commissioners, the Traffic Division was able to obtain a radar speed trailer for use in the township. The radar trailer displays to drivers the speed that they are traveling on a large display.
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Over weight trucks often travel the roadways in Ross Township. This poses a general safety concern for the residents and causes very expensive damage to the roadways of the Township. An aggressive, pro-active approach uses portable scales several times a month, generally in the morning before most trucks finish making their deliveries. With the large number of commercial vehicles traveling through Ross Township, mainly on McKnight Road, Perry Highway, Babcock Boulevard, Rochester Road and Interstate 279, the associated safety problems and the violations they entail became a concern. The Traffic Division responded by setting up systematic commercial vehicle inspection sites on a periodic basis utilizing two officers for the detail. The number of violations and citations issued can easily justify these details, let alone the increased safety factor to all concerned. Traffic officers also take routine and emergency calls when there is a lack of available patrol officers. |
Motor
Officer Richard White
Motor Officer
Gary Medsger
Traffic
Officer Michael P. Thomas
Motor
Officer Albert Elway
Traffic
Officer David Young