“Why does it seem the crashes have gone down”
Someone asked recently why it seems like we have had fewer crashes in Cimarron County this and last year so I will say what I think.
Going back several years from 2006 according to state records Cimarron County saw an average of between 55 and 70 accidents each year. That number fell to the low 30’s in 2007 and will likely end up possibly even less in 2008 barring a bad December. This is a good thing.
The OHP has a mission which perhaps first of all is to do what we can to prevent accidents from happening. High visibility and aggressive enforcement are the two best proven ways to accomplish this. We were not sent a replacement for Trooper Adrian Carrillo when he transferred out in 2007 so being that we were one trooper short in a two “road trooper” county I think it is remarkable the number went down so much. The extremely high fuel prices we saw before the recent drastic drop seemed to result in a drop in total vehicles on the road as people started cutting back on their mileage and many started car pooling. This and the overall poor economy also contributed to a part of the drop in crashes I would expect.
As with anyone doing a job I’d like to think my efforts personally may have helped but that is a matter of opinion. Along with our local size and weight troopers Boyd Perry and Tracy Brown a lot of cars get stopped for speeding and aggressive driving. These two “special service” troopers have the primary duty of working commercial trucking but both stop cars and other speeders regularly and work accidents. The three of us have done all we can and I am certain it has helped. I try to work Cimarron County every day and that seems to provide some of the visibility we need. Our newest trooper, Jason Burch has only been on his own for a short time but he enjoys patrolling Cimarron County as well.
It seems to be a touchy issue with a few locals but the Cimarron County Sheriff’s Office actually does what few S.O.’s in Oklahoma do and that is simply work traffic. Having three deputy sheriffs who stop a lot of cars certainly contributed greatly to the noticeable reduction in accidents. Bottom line the word gets out that you had better not speed through Cimarron County. Many still do but many slow down. Having near 50% drop in crashes for two years means many fewer injuries and fewer fatality accidents. Who can argue with these facts???
One measure I have taken that has brought a little heat upon me since coming to Cimarron County is that with agreement from other officials we have in effect closed roads when conditions have been so bad that multiple wrecks had already happened or appeared to be a certainty. This aggravates a lot of people but if it saves injuries and lives why not do it??? Until my power to do this is taken away I will continue to do what I swore to do and that is to do my best to prevent accidents.
Till’ next time,
Trooper Duane Johnson #280
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
