Police in Indianapolis will patrol more roads without issuing tickets

Indianapolis, Indiana – Police in Indianapolis and Indiana State will be enforcing traffic laws more strictly around the city. They say this is because they have noticed a rise in incidents of reckless driving.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reports that numerous vehicle-related cases have been reported this year. This comprises about 40 fatal crashes overall, 274 crashes involving pedestrians, and 84 crashes involving cyclists.

IMPD Sgt. Javed Richards said, “We’ve seen a lot of fatalities. We’ve seen a lot of families being hurt because of traffic incidents. So before you think, ‘Hey, this does not apply to me,’ think about the repercussions of a traffic accident and what may happen if you’re involved.”

Beginning on Monday, police will be tightening up on traffic enforcement throughout the city in an effort to reduce these figures. They claim that stopping reckless driving is their main priority, not issuing penalties.

Richards said, “Obviously, we know what tickets are or what enforcement does help with correcting behavior, but also speaking to someone, giving them a warning, educating them more, you know, one-on-one conversation, that’s another way of actually correcting behavior.”

For IMPD Officer Jacob Liebhauser, there’s a lot of work ahead to curb reckless driving. “Just drive by the way the law says. That way, if everybody is on the same page, we can keep everybody safe,” he said.

A vehicle was stopped for running a red signal on Monday afternoon while Liebhauser was leading the ride-along.

Liebhauser explained the process of running the car’s plate to learn more about the vehicle and driver. “So, what I’m doing here is just making sure there aren’t any warrants on the car or on the driver. She does not, so I’ll just give her a warning, and let her know about the light, and we’ll be done,” he said.

Richards added this as advice to drivers, “Slow down, put down the phone, be less distracted, and one of the ways to do that is to slow down, pay attention to what is going on around you, pedestrians, traffic signal, other drivers, and that will help.”

All things considered, the IMPD claims that this is an additional measure they are doing to ensure that community members, in particular, keep safe when driving.