June 2019 Newtown Township Police Report: Traffic Citations Drop, But Don�t Get Complacent!

Police Chief John Hearn presented the Calls Report for June 2019 at the July 10, 2019, Board of Supervisors meeting. The following is a summary. Note: Not all calls are listed. Some information is considered sensitive and not meant for public distribution. Download the full (redacted) report here.

In June, the Newtown Police Department responded to 1,603 total calls, 361 (23%) of which were in Wrightstown Township (Newtown Police provides services to both Newtown Township and Wrightstown).

Traffic Citations Drop In June, But...

The Newtown Police Department issued a total of 168 traffic citations in June compared to 208 in May. Less than one-third (52) of these were for speeding. See the chart below.

Traffic Citations in Newtown and Wrightstown Issued by the Newtown Police Department for the period January through June, 2019.

The drop in speeding citations from May to June was dramatic as evident in the following chart.

Speeding Citations Along Various Roads Issued by the
Newtown Police Department for the period January through June, 2019.

Third Time’s a Charm!

However, Newtown Township Police Chief Hearn confirmed at the July 10, 2019, BOS meeting that his department began a THIRD round of aggressive driving enforcement starting on July 8 and ending on August 25, 2019.

According to a report in Newtown Patch (here), “The focus will be on heavy truck enforcement, red light running, tailgating, the Move Over law, and speeding. Other unsafe driving behaviors, such as driving too fast for conditions, texting, careless driving, and Work Zone Safety violations, will be included.”

Move Over!

State law requires drivers approaching an emergency response area, including areas in which a tow truck is offering assistance, to pass in a non-adjacent lane if safe and possible to do so, or slow to a safe speed. Also included in the law are utility vehicles within the first 72 hours after a declared emergency or until the expiration of a declared emergency, whichever is later.

The second wave of the year's Aggressive Driving campaign was conducted March 18 to April 28 (read “March 2019 Newtown Police Report: Crack Down on Aggressive Driving!”

Posted on 11 Jul 2019, 01:19 - Category: Crime