County receives speed enforcement grant

County receives speed enforcement grant
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Monday, February 4, 2008 11:18 AM CST

Dunn County Sheriff Dennis Smith reported that his department was recently awarded a $10,000 speed enforcement grant to be used to pay for extra patrols in designated areas of Dunn County.

During 2006, speed-related crashes were listed as a contributing factor in 16 percent of all crashes and 36.7 percent of fatal crashes. A total of 256 people died in these crashes. Excess speed is often associated with other high-risk behaviors — such as following too closely and failure to wear safety restraints — that increase the likelihood of a crash and of significant injury or death occurring.

Smith said that alcohol- and speed-related crash data from the three previous years for every jurisdiction in Wisconsin was analyzed, from those involving property damage through all ranges of injuries and death. The state identified those places in Wisconsin with the largest number of crashes due to excessive alcohol use or speed. A “snapshot” of the most likely places for similar crashes per capita was established.

A zero tolerance posture for speed and safety restraint violations is part of the project.