The Pleasant Prairie Police Department has teamed up with other area law enforcement agencies to help prevent crashes and injuries by targeting high-speed and reckless driving on State Trunk Highway 31 (STH 31). The Pleasant Prairie Police Department utilizes the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s (WISDOT) Community Maps program to identify crash hotspots, allowing officers to focus on specific violations in specific areas.
Over the last two years, there have been 131 crashes on STH 31 in Pleasant Prairie. Of those 131 crashes:
- 37% resulted in at least one injury, with 67 total injuries reported
- 67% of crashes involving a failure to wear a seatbelt resulted in injury
- 16% were related to speed
- 8% involved a distracted driver
- 6% were drug or alcohol-related
The Pleasant Prairie Police Department is assisting the Wisconsin State Patrol, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, and University of Wisconsin Parkside Police Department with aggressive enforcement of traffic violations that most often lead to crashes. In January, the combined efforts of this targeted enforcement resulted in over 150 citations being issued.
Pleasant Prairie Police Chief David Smetana explained that “The goal of this multi-jurisdictional effort is to ensure that the roadways within our community are safe for our traveling public. Proactive traffic enforcement, along with educating drivers on the leading causes of traffic accidents, can have a positive impact on this dangerous trend.”
Most crashes are preventable, and drivers can remain safe by following basic rules:
- Don’t speed. Speed increases the severity of crashes.
- Driver sober. Alcohol and drugs inhibit reaction times and make it harder for a driver to focus on safely operating a vehicle.
- Buckle up, phone down. Make driving the priority. Distracted driving such as phone use, putting on makeup, reading a paper, or eating, is considered inattentive driving and can be very dangerous. Wearing a seatbelt can greatly decrease the severity of injury in a crash. Make sure children are in the proper safety seat.
- Most crashes occur at intersections. Before proceeding through an intersection, check that all other traffic has cleared the intersection.
- Don’t follow too closely. Keep a safe distance from other vehicles – at least two seconds (in good weather) – to allow for reaction to hazards.
- Drive according to the weather. Speed limits are meant for good weather conditions.