Two-Week Three Flags Campaign Blitz Starts Monday February 6th

(Salem) - The Oregon State Police (OSP) will be joining traffic enforcement officers in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia during the first of three special enforcement blitzes designed to promote proper use of safety restraints, deter speeding and dangerous drivers, and remove impaired drivers from our highways. The Three Flags Campaign, scheduled for February 6th through February 19th, utilizes enforcement blitzes and public education. State troopers and local police officers will focus on those traffic safety issues that have a high correlation to crash-related factors. "OSP troopers will target those problem violations that are of high interest to other drivers based upon complaint calls into our dispatch centers," said Sergeant Michael Stupfel, Oregon State Police Patrol Services Division. "Each OSP office has been directed to coordinate saturation patrols with local agencies in known problem areas." According to statistics provided by OSP Patrol Services Division, driving complaints phoned into the two OSP dispatch centers have jumped. Between 2000 and 2004, a total of 154,380 complaints were reported. The number rose from over 22,700 in the year 2000, to nearly 39,000 in the year 2004. As the manager of the OSP crash reconstruction program, Sergeant Stupfel has a keen understanding of the tragedies that result from traffic crashes. "Many of these crashes could be prevented through obeying speed laws, increasing following distances, using safety restraints and child safety seats, and having a sober driver behind the steering wheel. We have asked our troopers to strictly enforce all these crash causing violations." A very sad reminder of the importance of using safety restraints and child safety seats happened the night of January 31st. On a rural stretch of Highway 97 in southern Wasco county, an unrestrained one-year old boy was ejected from the arms of a passenger as the vehicle went off the highway and rolled several times. Five of the seven vehicle occupants were ejected critically injuring three other people. In addition to Oregon State Police, nearly 100 county and city police agencies in Oregon may participate during the two-week blitz period using federal traffic safety grant funds provided through ODOT. According to ODOT's Occupant Protection program, over 25,000 enforcement contacts for safety belt and child safety seat violations occurred between October 2004 and September 2005 through the use of grant funds. The Three Flags Campaign enforcement blitz will coincide with National Child Passenger Safety Week, February 12 “ 18. Many communities are sponsoring child safety seat checkpoints in February. Visit www.childsafetyseat.org for a schedule of free child safety seat inspection events.