Garner Police Department 2019 Annual Report Published August 2020 | Page 15

Traffic Safety Information
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT IS one method that the
Garner Police Department uses for reducing the
risk of being killed or seriously injured on our
roads. The traffic safety team aggressively enforces
the motor vehicle laws, provides citizen education,
and seeks voluntary compliance to improve the safety
of the motoring public. The Garner Police Department
participates in numerous local and regional traffic
safety checkpoints throughout our community
supporting the Wake County Traffic Safety Task Force.
The traffic safety program is focused on addressing all
safety violations related to the operation of a motor
vehicle. Not all traffic stops will end with a citation; in
fact, only 24% of the department’s 6,204 traffic stops in
2019 resulted in the driver being issued a citation. An
additional 45% of stops resulted in a verbal warning
or no action taken, and 30% of stops resulted in a
written warning. Only .5% of all traffic stops resulted
in custodial arrest.
The traffic safety program is heavily involved in
educating the community. The department partners
with Garner Magnet High School and South Garner
High School in an anti-texting campaign, Click it or
Ticket, and through participation in the Public Safety
Academy. Fatal Vision Goggles combined with the
DWI golf cart allows for simulated intoxicated driving
scenarios for students at the high school as well. Child
seat installations and inspections occur periodically
with an appointment based system. The appointment
based system allows our officers to give a parent
dedicated time to ensure that the child seat is correctly
installed.
The Garner Police Department remains committed
to the pursuit of traffic safety by partnering with the
Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP). GHSP’s
main focus is to reduce alcohol related crashes, gain
seat belt compliance, promote motorycle safety,
and conduct speed enforcement through various
campaigns such as “Booze it and Lose it”, “Click it or
Ticket”, and “BikeSafe” to help raise awareness.”
TRAFFIC CRASH DATA
The Garner Police Department investigated 1,620
traffic crashes in 2019, up 11% from a total of 1,442 in
2018. Of those crashes, 298 reported personal injury, a
increase from the 254 reporting injury in 2018. Three
fatal crashes occurred in 2019, the same as in 2018.
The chart below shows the traffic crash history for the
past five years with an average of 1,440. Crashes in
2019 were approximately 12% above the five-year
average. The highest number of reported crashes
occurred on Friday and the fewest number of crashes
occurred on Sundays.
Traffic Crashes - Five-Year Average
1,368 1,353
1,407
1,450
1,620
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
GARNER POLICE DEPARTMENT 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 15