UPD targets North Campus distracted driving

Most of the serious traffic accidents on the North Campus happen at two major intersections. The accidents are largely caused by distracted driving, according to UB police (UPD).

UPD now plans to direct funding received through the Federal Fiscal Year 2018 Police Traffic Services Program (PTS) to reduce distracted driving and its impact across the North Campus.

“The most serious traffic accidents on the North Campus take place at two intersections: Flint Road and Audubon Parkway, and Audubon and Rensch Road,” says Joshua B. Sticht, UPD deputy chief for operations.

“The only traffic fatality on the North Campus in the last five years was at Audubon and Rensch, and it happened as a result of distracted driving,” Sticht says.

UPD has received $4,176 through the PTS program. The program awards grant funding for enforcement of violations that include speed, dangerous driving, aggressive driving, distracted driving, seat-belt and child-restraint violations and other related traffic issues to reduce motor vehicle crashes and their resulting injuries and deaths.

Sticht says the grant funding will enable UPD to set up traffic units to target distracted driving behaviors.

“With the grant, we can schedule enforcement details with officers brought in on overtime to impact distracted driving without causing us to pull officers from other details, which would offset campus safety,” Sticht says.

UPD examined the intersections of Audubon Parkway at Flint and Rensch roads and determined neither presented a safe location for an enforcement action.

“Cars travel on Audubon at a high rate of speed through both of those intersections, so we will use the grant funds to set up traffic units at Augspurger Road and Hadley Road,” Sticht says.

“Through the emergency ‘blue light’ cameras installed around the North Campus, we have been able to determine that for the two intersections we are talking about, a distracted driver is almost always the cause of a serious accident,” he says. “Often, the driver ignores the left-hand turn lane — whether he or she is talking or texting on a phone, or simply not paying attention.

“With the grant funds now available to us,” he adds, “UPD officers will be working to remind all of the drivers who travel through the North Campus to please do so in a manner that ensures their safety and the safety of others at UB.”