Oro Valley Police take a visible approach to traffic enforcement

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Posted 6:51 PM 9/12/2012 : Oro Valley Police take a visible approach to traffic enforcement

ORO VALLEY, Ariz. - The town of Oro Valley has expanded dramatically over the last decade. With that growth has come thousands of more drivers on the town's roads. This year, with a huge increase in injury-related accidents, the Oro Valley Police Department is taking action, hoping to keep crashes from happening.

Last year, Oro Valley had a total of 60 injury-related accidents. With more than 3 months remaining in this year, that number has already reached 58. To slow that trend, the police department is literally stepping forward, using what they call "HiVE" or, "High Visibility Enforcement".

The stretch of road on Oracle, between MaGee Road and Suffolk Road, is the busiest and most dangerous in Oro Valley. The combined average for the two intersections is 70 collisions a year.

Drivers, like Martha Romero, are well aware of the perils of driving in that part of town. "They'll just cut right in front of you", she said, "they're in a hurry or something and they drive pretty fast."

Lt. Chris Olson of the Oro Valley Police Department says there are two big reasons for so many accidents."With the volume and congestion, speed is a factor when it comes to the rear-end accidents occurring at the intersections," Olson said. "Also, inattention is a big deal, people aren't paying attention"

On September 18, from 7 to 10 a.m. and on September 19th, from 4 to 7 p.m., the Oro Valley Police Department will make it's presence known in a big way with high-visibility deployments positioned at both intersections at Magee and Suffolk.

Olson said passing out tickets is not the priority. "The goal is not to write citations, it's just to increase awareness and let the public know that we are present," he said. "We will take enforcement action if they choose to run a red light or speed through the intersection."

Besides the two announced dates the department plans to conduct "HiVE" details over the next 90 days. They also say they will alert media outlets to let the public know when and where they will happen.