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i : § | { i 3 CR El A EE RE YEE "Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" ff "yy ¥ ~2 RT hl NEE IEA ETE FAR A PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 7, 2000 - 3 Select Enforcement Unit hits the road New unit draws a bead on speeders By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Watch out, speeders. In an effort to slow down motorists here in North Durham, police have formed the Durham Regional Police Select Enforcement Unit. Since hitting the road, the unit has targeted speeders here in three northern municipalities, says Const. Dennis Glazer, 26 Division Traffic Safety Co-ordinator. The unit's mandate is to deliver the message that motorists must slow down. "When | started here (in 26 Division), | said what we needed was a specific unit to enforce speed limits. We can't always rely on the guys doing general patrol to do enforcement, because they're busy," said Const. Glazier. "(The Select Enforcement Unit) are going to be at it all the time -- seven days a week, 20 hours a day." Constables Jim Harmer and Jim Hunter will target specific roads in North Durham each day, and the pair will be on patrol during the rush-hour periods in the early morning and evening. "These guys will be on the road all week, week- ends and holidays. They're always going to be on the road," said Const. Glazier. Since the officers began patrolling the three northern townships in mid-October, they have handed out more than 500 speeding tick- ets. "We're trying to send a strong message here," said 26 Division Inspector Bill Temple. "This is strictly enforcement... it's not okay, it's not safe to speed here, anywhere, anytime in North Durham." On average, since 1990, one person dies on the roads in Durham Region every 14 days. Speed is often a factor. "That's several hun- dred people who didn't come home," said Insp. Temple. "That's moms, dads, grandparents, and babies who've died, and that's absolutely tragic." The unit will also depend on the public to get its job done. "We get daily com- plaints, and from there we form a pattern and know where to patrol," said Const. Glazier, adding that the officers will also be looking for other infractions, such as unsafe passing and tail- gating. After years of budget cutbacks, money has finally been made avail- able to hire more officers, meaning more manpower can be freed up to target speeders. "We've increased man- power through more funding... which allows us to address these prob- lems. Right now this is top priority for manage- ment," said Insp. Temple. Adds 26 Division Staff- Sergeant Dietmar Schoenrock: "People fail to understand that dri- ving is a privilege, not a right. If they abuse it by speeding, then they will lose their right." Const. Harmer is look- ing forward to the task of making North Durham's roads safer. "Everyone has their own niche. Some guys like the drug squad, and others like criminal inves- tigations," he said. "A few of us think our niche is traffic. I've always leaned toward traffic, and when they offered me this, | jumped at it." Why do cops hate red cars? ...Drivers offer excuses Motorists caught for exceeding the speed limit in 26 Division have offered up some pretty bizarre explanations for their speeding, says Durham Regional Police Const. Dennis Glazier. During their rounds patrolling the roads of North Durham, the offi- cers on the Select Enforcement Unit have collected some creative excuses from the drivers they've caught ! Among them: a One woman who accused police of having a bias toward red cars. She told an officer she "was only being stopped because she had a red- coloured car'. She told police that she had been stopped for speeding three times in her red car, but not once in her other car, which is a dif- ferent colour... even though she admits to dri- ving just as fast in that vehicle; Q Another motorist, who told officers that he was "driving fast to get to the gas station before they changed the price of the gasoline"; 0 And a man stopped for speeding who claimed he was told there was a radar trap in the area, "but had to see it for himself". Garage theft totals $11,000 Thieves grabbed more than $11,000 in itéms from an Old Simcoe Rd. garage. Sometime overnight Nov. 1 to 2, thieves stole a 2000 Yamaha ATV valued at $9,400, and a $1,200 gas-powered washer, say Regional Police. They also broke into a car and stole a stereo and various CDs, worth a total of about $700. pressure Durham Sale Exdr Nov. 13/00 relected Ho liduy \ Furhions Mens - Womens Kid 1 SAVE everyday with your Brock's Gold Card. See in store for details. acres DREOCCIKS 168 - 178 Queen Street, Port Perry IRE REAPS or Kids add BRZCKS BIRR ESTe]!