The Midland Police Department has been cracking down on speeders and traffic violations as driver behavior has increasingly become a major factor in car crashes around Midland.
The following numbers were pulled from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 of 2012 and 2013 to show the increase in citations issued for these offenses:
Traffic Citations Issued
YTD 2012:12,354
YTD 2013: 13,476
Increase: 1,122 (9 percent)
Speeding Citations Issued
YTD 2012:3,898 (includes 3 for speeding less than 10 percent over limit; 462 for speeding in school zone)
YTD 2013: 4,806 (includes 46 for speeding less than 10 percent over limit; 333 for speeding in school zone)
Increase: 908 (23 percent)
Speeding on Loop 250 Citations Issued
YTD 2012:365
YTD 2013: 560
Increase: 195 (53 percent)
A recent compilation of existing data showed that the top three contribution factors to crashes during the months of July through September of this year were:
• Following too closely - 174 crashes
• Driver inattention - 156 crashes
• Failure to control speed - 104 crashes