Las Cruces – Local law enforcement agencies teamed up during a traffic safety blitz on Monday near the NMSU Las Cruces campus, issuing a total of 99 citations and making 2 arrests.
The traffic safety blitz was scheduled to coincide with the first full week of the Fall semester to get drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians to focus on what they are doing on the road, and hopefully reduce collisions as a result. Officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department, the NM State Police, and the NMSU Police Department participated in the operation.
During this operation, some officers were even able to demonstrate their proficiency in math, using an old-school technique for calculating speed that uses a tape measure, a calculator, and a stopwatch. Officer Kevin Renn, a recent retiree from the Las Cruces Police Department and now an officer with NMSU, showed some younger officers how the technique is used to measure speed of vehicles without a radar or lidar. By measuring the amount of time it takes a vehicle to cover a pre-measured distance, the officers can accurately measure speed with some simple math. The technique also allows officers to catch speeders who are using radar detectors, as well as those who are moving across the officer’s line of sight, rather than directly toward or away from the officer.
During this operation, the following citations were issued:
- No Driver’s License in Possession: 4
- No Seat Belt: 16
- Improper Turn: 8
- No Insurance: 14
- Stopped/Standing Prohibited: 1
- Failure to Yield to Pedestrians: 4
- Bicycle Traffic Law Violations: 6
- Registration Expired: 3
- Careless Driving: 2
- Speeding: 16
- Stop Sign Violation: 5
- No Motorcycle Eye Protection: 1
- Window Tint Violations: 4
- Prohibited Cell Phone: 7
- Wrong Way: 1
- Improper Equipment: 2
- Jay Walking: 4
- Red Light Violation: 1
(NOTE: Regarding bicyclists, a total of 15 bicyclists received citations, but only 6 were for bicycle-specific violations. The others are included in areas like failure to stop at a stop sign.)
Additional traffic safety operations are planned in the area over the next few months.
Information from NMSU Police