STEP HELPS CONTROL SPEED — REDUCE ACCIDENTS
Almost 3,000 Texans have died on the state’s highways in 2016 with speed being a major contributor. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, as of Nov. 1, 2016, there have been 2,922 fatalities across the state.
Brenham Police Department Patrol Captain Trey Gully says that is one of the reasons Brenham participates in the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, also known as STEP.
Gully says traffic enforcement of speed limits is one of the best ways to reduce those rates.
The Brenham Police Department has participated in the STEP program since 2015 and received another round of grant funding for 2017.
The program provides funding for officers to work overtime to enforce the speed limits which, the department says, ensures visitors and residents alike can travel safely through the city.
“Our officers are serious about wanting to make an impact on reducing crashes due to speed and other related traffic violations. They are talking to people to educate them on their concerns. Education is just as important a tool as is traffic enforcement and we intend to use both to keep our roadways and citizens safe,” Gully said.
This has got to be the most ill considered use of state grant money I have ever seen. Traffic enforcement is a huge cash cow for cities around the state. Some (including myself) would argue that traffic tickets are primarily about revenue generation and less about safety. The are many examples of this around our state to show just how much this is true. So that take our tax dollars to pay officers overtime to target citizens for minor infractions to generate even more revenue. How about having the state tax us less, let excess revenue from traffic enforcement pay for the officers time and move forward. This is complete waste of tax dollars.
P.S. If you really want to make some easy money, how about the sending an officer around to target people who park in handicapped spaces but are not entitled to do so!