POUGHKEEPSIE – The City of Poughkeepsie Police have stepped-up traffic enforcement in response to complaints of “people driving like maniacs,” according to Sergeant Bill Badner, the supervisor of the department’s traffic enforcement unit.
When the pandemic first struck, Police Chief Tom Pape enacted temporary measures for the safety of both his officers and motorists, including a reduction in traffic stops for minor violations. Pape and Mayor Rob Rolison announced last week that the “soft approach” to traffic issues had come to an end.
“We took a step back,” Pape previously told city lawmakers with regard to traffic enforcement. A recap of Pape’s report can be found here. The chief explained that the “soft approach” was to limit contact between the officers and drivers to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. With the health crisis easing up, the police are taking a more aggressive approach to combat aggressive driving, with Pape saying, “Our goal is to keep everyone safe.”
Rolison addressed the erratic driving during a report he gave live on social media last week. “If you are going a certain mile an hour over the speed limit and that is reckless driving, we’re going to tow your car!” According to Rolison, additional officers have been assigned to traffic enforcement to pull over motorists that are disobeying the law.
The increased enforcement has been noticeable to other motorists throughout the city. “The cops are pulling cars over everywhere,” said motorist Lisa Talbert, as she sat in her parked car across from an intersection where a driver was seen getting a ticket from a city officer. “I hope they keep it up – people are driving like idiots,” said Talbert.
Rolison said that the speed enforcement was not going to be limited to the east and westbound arterials but will take place throughout the city. “We want people to slow down,” said the city’s top official. On Wednesday afternoon, Officer Edward Fenichel was using radar to monitor complaints of speeding vehicles on Wilbur Boulevard near Spratt Park. Mayor Rolison and Sergeant Badner visited Fenichel at the location to monitor the operation. “Just having a visible police car tends to slow drivers down,” said Fenichel, with Rolison adding “This works. If we can get drivers to slow down without writing tickets, I’m good with that, but there are people out there driving like idiots,” said Rolison.
The mayor pointed out that since the crackdown began last week, more than 60 traffic-related tickets have been issued with almost an equal number of warnings given to motorists during traffic stops. “We have also towed seven or eight cars as a result of our efforts,” he said. “They have to slow down.”
Badner said that erratic driving was increasing during the pandemic because fewer cars were on the road and “People began to take too many liberties.” Badner also pointed out that many of the drivers that were stopped recently used the excuse that they were “essential employees” and should be given a break. “That’s not the way this works,” Badner tells them.
With the pandemic remaining and the weather improving, Badner said the department is attempting to curb mean behavior before things get bad. “The weather is getting nicer and kids aren’t in school – they’re outside,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is investigate an accident involving a child,” Badner said. “Drivers need to be aware of the increased number of pedestrians that are out and about.”
