Clayton Police now have a new ride…plus a new dedicated traffic officer.
It’s all part of a NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program (NCGHSP) grant which helps provide funding for a full-time Traffic Safety Team officer, including his salary, equipment and vehicle, for three years.
“For 20 years, Clayton has been lucky enough to receive these Governor’s grants and they’re working,” said Clayton Police Chief Blair Myhand. “The NHTSA says developing and implementing high-visibility speed enforcement teams in communities can have a dramatic effect on reducing crashes and saving lives. And we need that improvement. Clayton Police have seen a 26% increase in crashes over the last four years. Thankfully, the majority don’t involve injuries. But we’re a growing community, with 4 new people moving to Clayton every day, so we don’t want those crash statistics going up.”
Officer Timothy Marquis and his new 2019 Ford Mustang GT are not on a mission to just write a bunch of traffic tickets, the goal is to reduce traffic crashes, reduce traffic injuries, reduce traffic fatalities. Our Traffic Safety Team is focusing on where traffic crashes occur, where we’re having accidents, where we’re having injuries and property damage — they’re watching the red light runners and watching the stop sign runners. More than anything, Clayton wants Officer Marquis and this Mustang to have a big presence, because a big presence can be a big deterrent.
The $67,662 grant was formally approved on Oct. 11th, 2019 by the NCGHSP as part of $18 million in grants awarded to agencies all 100 counties in North Carolina.
Johnston County is ranked seventh in overall fatalities and ninth in alcohol-related and unrestrained fatalities in the state.
