Albany police crack down on distracted drivers

ALBANY — Although some Albany area drivers may have been too distracted to notice, a special operations unit of the Albany Police Department’s Traffic Division conducted a successful safety compliance check Thursday aimed at cracking down on distracted driving, texting while driving and seatbelt violations.

At a late afternoon press conference Thursday at APD’s Law Enforcement Center, Lt. William Dowdell announced that officers from the city’s traffic unit, the downtown unit and the neighborhood resource office spent the day on Albany’s streets trying to make sure that area drivers were being safe on the road.

“It was a very successful event today,” said Dowdell. “There were 36 citations issued, along with four warnings, 18 seatbelt citations, two texting while driving, one distracted driving, one child restraint and there was also an arrest for a suspended driver’s license.”

Dowdell explained that officers wearing civilian clothing, or “plain clothes,” were stationed on the side of roads and at intersections throughout the community, holding signs identifying them as Albany Police officers. As these officers saw drivers violating traffic laws, they would radio ahead to other units that would stop the vehicles and issue citations.

“What they did was stand on the side of the road as if they were panhandling, but in actuality the sign reads ‘Albany PD’ and it basically tells you that we’re here for a safety restraint, distracted driving and a cellphone usage detail,” said Dowdell. “The sign clearly tells you exactly what we’re doing.

“Today, in fact, because those motorists were distracted, using their cellphones and not paying attention, nobody bothered to pay attention to what we were doing until it was too late.”

Because of the success of Thursday’s focus and because unsafe driving is a major concern in Albany, Dowdell said the department will continue running similar operations, many focused in areas of the city that have increasing traffic accidents.

“These kinds of details are going to be sporadic and random throughout the city,” he said. “We’re going to focus most of our attention on our major intersections where we’re having high crashes. That would be Slappey, Gillionville, Dawson Road, Westover, East and West Oglethorpe, Clark Avenue, places like that, that people are not used to seeing us there.

“We want to remind the public that texting while driving is illegal. Distracted driving, such as eating food items, not paying attention to what you’re doing and all of those, those are also illegal and we need to pay closer attention.”

As for the reaction officers received from motorists who were stopped during the safety compliance check, Dowdell said it was mixed.

“We got different reactions,” he said. “We’ve gotten good comments from folks, and we’ve gotten bad comments. We’re going to continue to do this. We want our community to become 100 percent compliant, especially with the safety restraints.”

Dowdell added that although safety is going to be a year-round priority, police officials are urging drivers to be especially cautious during the holiday season due to increased traffic.

“We want everybody to buckle up during the holidays,” he said. “You are going to see a lot more of a presence because there are a lot more motorists on the road. We want everybody to get to and from their destination safely.”