Cst. Ryan Attoe says even when drivers see his fluorescent yellow vest they don’t always slow down. He’s part of the traffic enforcement unit with the Niagara Regional Police, who are cracking down on speeding drivers on Moyer Road, Welland. Laura Barton/Welland Tribune/Postmedia Network
Administrative Sgt. Joshua Klop of the NRP traffic enforcement unit said his unit is always out making sure drivers are obeying the rules of the road. Particular attention is being given to Moyer Road in Welland right now though.
June saw two serious collisions alone, one which resulted in a death and the other left a man seriously injured.
Within the first few days of their surveillance of that area, traffic enforcement officers gave out 64 tickets, most of which were for speeding.
Klop said an additional 20 tickets were given out before 11:00 a.m. even rolled around on Thursday morning.
“I think a lot of people almost use that kind of as a highway,” he said of the Moyer Road stretch.
He said instead of going around to the actual highways, people use the road to get between cities.
The fact that it’s more of a rural setting with less housing and businesses plays into how people drive down that road as well. There are less distractions, he said, so the mind kind of wanders.
Klop said they’re not doing anything out of the ordinary even though Moyer has seen so many accidents lately. It’s more a matter of making their presence on the road known.
He said they would rather be proactive in getting people to slow down than have to deal with the consequences of excessive speed later on.
“We don’t like to respond to something that’s happened already,” he said. “Unfortunately sometimes it happens that way.”
So far two major stops they’ve made involve a 66-year-old man who was arrested and charged for driving 30 km/h under the speed limit while intoxicated and then a 42-year-old man who was arrested and charged for stunting when he was caught driving more than 50 km/h over the speed limit.
Over his many years working with the traffic unit, Klop said he’s heard all the excuses people can come up with once they’re stopped. The most common are being late, not paying attention and not knowing what the posted speed limit is.
“It’s always up to the driver to be paying attention,” he said of these excuses.
“Slow down. Pay attention to your surroundings. (Don’t) be distracted.”
The traffic enforcement unit will be out on Moyer Road tracking speed with both Lidar and Radar tracking devices.
Klop said the unit covers the entire region and is always around. Sometimes they’re just more present in one area for a time to remind drivers they need to reduce their speed and be safe on the road.
“It’s not going away,” he said. “We’ll still be out there and we’ll still be enforcing it.”
Police say residents who would like to report traffic violations they think need more attention can call the traffic hotline at 905-688-4111 ext. 5555 or email [email protected].
Source: The Welland Tribune