Sheriff David Morgan says that during his campaign one of the top five complaints he heard was the lack of traffic enforcement.
“I still hear at my meetings with citizen’s groups and neighborhood associations complaints about speeders and drivers running traffic lights,” Morgan says.
ECSO Chief Deputy Bill Chavers has beefed up the traffic division and now has two squads. In December 2008, the ECSO, under former Sheriff Ron McNesby, wrote 29 tickets. From when Morgan was sworn into office (Jan. 6) until Jan. 31, the ECSO has written 303 citations.
“I am an old traffic guy,” Chavers says. “We are out to curb speeding, aggressive driving and the running of traffic lights and Stop signs.”
Enforcing traffic laws can lead to more phones to the ECSO, and Chavers admits he has had complaints. Under McNesby, deputies actually had been told not to write traffic tickets —which explains the low number of traffic tickets written in December.
“We are answering to the public’s concerns about traffic violations and have sent our squads to those areas that citizen’s have told us are bad,” Chavers says.