OXFORD — The Village of Oxford Police Department was awarded $13,094.26 for the purchase of a speed trailer and permanent school safety beacon system.
The funding was secured in full as part of the Safe Routes to School funding that was made available as result of a collaborative partnership between the Village of Oxford and the Oxford Academy and Central School District. The school safety beacon was installed by the Village of Oxford’s Department of Public Works and configured by members of the Village of Oxford Police Department at no further cost.
The acquisition is representative of a shared goal in making the community’s roadways safer for students traveling to and from school as well as for all community members and guests. According to statistics provided by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC), travelling at an unsafe speed is the leading cause of motor vehicle accidents in Chenango County, and speeding has consistently remained a leading cause of fatal motor vehicle accidents statewide. Statistics would show that the dangers posed appear to be heightening. In 2014, OPD patrols served a 43 percent increase in traffic violations in the Village of Oxford alone.
“Our agency is committed to ensuring that this trend is reversed and we are happy to partner with the Oxford Academy & Central School District and Village of Oxford officials in doing so,” said Oxford Police Chief Richard Nolan. “Our allocation of a mobile speed trailer will allow us to engage with the community in identifying speeding hot spots and promoting safer driving habits in such areas by providing a positive, highly visible, deterrent, and informative prompt for drivers on our community’s roadways. Our speed trailer unit records traffic data 24/7 and will allow our agency to more efficiently allocate our patrol resources in deterring unsafe driving habits.
“The placement of the school safety beacon system serves also to further our commitment to ensuring the safety of our community’s roadways, but more specifically in the school zone area of the Oxford Academy High School. We hope that the placement of the beacon at the high school will encourage all drivers to take more care in monitoring their speeds and abide by the 15 mph speed limit, between the times of 7 a.m.-6 p.m. when students are travelling to and from school either by vehicle, bicycle, or by foot. We also hope that its placement helps to encourage safer driving habits on the part of student drivers who drive to and from school. Our agency cannot stress enough the importance of reducing speed when operating within a school zone. When it comes to the rate of speed of a vehicle, once your vehicle’s rate of speed surpasses 15 mph, the chance of causing severe personal injury or death resulting from a pedestrian involved collision increases significantly.”
A study commissioned by the AARA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that travelling at only 23 mile per hour increases the chances of severe personal injury to a pedestrian by 61.5 percent and the chances of death by 39.1 percent. Just a five mile per hour difference in speed makes a difference and by slowing down, drivers could save a life. “Our patrols will also be taking a zero tolerance approach to reducing speeding within our school zones,” Nolan said.
Per a suggestion by an Oxford village resident at a village board meeting, OPD efforts will also be furthered by the replacement of all of the 15 mph school speed limit signs within our school zone areas surrounding the Oxford Middle School on Fort Hill Park and Merchant St. as well as at the Oxford High School on S. Washington Ave, Nolan said.
“The signs will be replaced with more modern and reflective signs that also provide the time of which the reduced speed zone is in effect,” Nolan said. “Many community members often wonder what time the school speed limit is in place. Drivers must follow the 15 mile per hour speed limit from the times of 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Often times, students are still travelling to and from school, attending and departing from after school programs and therefore it is still necessary for drivers to reduce their speeds to promote a safer environment for these students.”
The community is encouraged to become involved in the speed trailer program by visiting the Village of Oxford Police Department in person or by calling 843-2333 to learn more about the program or to request placement of the speed trailer. “We also encourage community members to attend village board meetings, which are generally held on the last Tuesday of every month to learn more about crime, traffic, and our agency’s overall involvement in ensuring the safety and sanctity of community members,” Nolan said. “At our meetings we present monthly crime reports, a detailed summary of the most notable incidents that our agency has handled, speed trailer data printouts, and details surrounding other programs that our agency is involved in. We not only welcome, but encourage input from our community members and are happy to answer any questions that one might have.”