Motor vehicle accidents in New Canaan are up “pretty significantly”—by a total of 20 at this point in the year compared to 2013—the chief of police said last week.
Accidents with injuries are down and motor vehicle violations have improved month-over-month but are “not what they should be,” Chief Leon Krolikowski said during a Police Commission meeting Wednesday.
During targeted enforcement for distracted driving Monday on Route 123, New Canaan police issued 14 tickets including nine for cellphone use, officials have said.
“I could give 14 tickets on Elm Street in a three-hour period of time just by looking,” Police Commission Secretary Sperry DeCew said during the meeting, held in the training room of the New Canaan Police Department.
Asked by Commission Chair Stuart Sawabini whether police would assign an officer to plain clothes duty for violations, Krolikowski said yes.
“Now that the weather is nice we’re going to have a plain clothes officer just spot,” he said.
School bus violations—where a motorist passes a stopped bus that has its lights flashing and stop sign fully extended, so that children can board or disembark and also walk toward their homes, including across the street—also are up this year, Krolikowski reported. It isn’t clear just why, but more drivers appear to be reporting the violations, the chief said.
Family disputes also are up “significantly” in 2014 compared to last year, Krolikowski said—with 42 incidents reported, compared to 23 at this time in 2013—though not all of them are domestic violence incidents.
“Some of them are repeats,” Krolikowski said. Part of the rise may be a good sign in that residents see the police as an agency that is equipped to help them in such disputes, he said.