The Nash County Sheriff’s Office has received a grant from the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program to create a four-man traffic team. The traffic team will focus on high traffic areas where speeding and vehicle accidents are prevalent in Nash County. The grant which totals around $407,000 is funded 85% the first year by the NCGHSP, and covers the salaries and equipment for all four members. The grant is spread out over three years, with each year reducing the amount that the NCGHSP covers.
Dedicated to reducing the numbers of traffic crashes and fatalities in North Carolina, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program promotes efforts to reduce traffic crashes in North Carolina and promotes highway safety awareness through a variety of grants and safe-driving initiatives. These grants as well as initiatives – like Click It or Ticket, Booze It & Lose It, BikeSafe NC, Watch For Me NC and Speed a Little, Lose a Lot. – help address issues such as impaired driving, seat belt use, speeding, distracted driving, motorcycle safety, bicycle safety, pedestrian safety and other aspects of highway safety.
Based on statistics, Nash County is 14th in the state overall in traffic fatalities, averaging 26 roadway deaths a year for the last five years. The county is 12th in the state in alcohol-related traffic fatalities and 18th in traffic deaths of 18 and younger victims.
Sheriff Keith Stone said, “This four-deputy team will focus on school zones, high traffic areas, speeding and seat belt enforcement. Speeding is a major contributing factor when it comes to the seriousness of vehicle accidents. The efforts of this team will be to reduce speeding and other factors, which we hope, will in turn reduce accidents and injuries to our citizens. “
