Commentary; Posted: 1/12/05
More state troopers needed on highways
By Don Heinzman
If Minnesota is to have fewer traffic fatalities than the 600 projected for this year, more state troopers need to be patrolling the highways.
It will be up to the Minnesota Legislature to appropriate the funds to hire more state troopers than the 560 now authorized. The state ranks 47th in numbers of troopers per person.
Neighboring states of South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Montana have more highway troopers per person than Minnesota.
Over the past 30 years, the number of vehicles sold has tripled, the number of miles driven has increased and the number of drivers has doubled.
The Minnesota State Patrol, however, does not plan to ask for an increase in its budget of $60 million, figuring itís up to the Minnesota Legislature and the people to lobby for a safer state. The state patrolís budget is less than one half percent of the stateís general budget.
Unless the public contacts its legislators, the state patrol likely will not get an increase in personnel this year.
One major deterrent to preventing accidents and fatalities is having more troopers patrolling the highways. If motorists notice more troopers, theyíre more likely to obey the traffic laws.
Take drunken drivers, for example, who still cause 40 percent of the fatalities. A drunken driver on the highway is an accident waiting to happen.
Some say if 200 drunk drivers can be kept off the highway, itís logical 200 fatalities can be prevented.
One retired highway patrolman who has investigated many traffic fatalities, figures half (300 lives) could be saved if there were 200 more troopers and if the seat belt law had more teeth in it.
He says if the seat belt law was changed to allow troopers to stop a car without it having a moving violation, it would be the equivalent of having 100 more troopers. State law today does not allow a police officer to stop a vehicle for observing an adult driver without a seat belt.
One could argue that the same number of lives could be saved if drivers just obeyed the traffic laws. That, however is not realistic.
If legislators were safety-minded they would appropriate more money to afford more troopers which could cut down on the number of fatalities, crashes and accidents.
It is up to the public to contact their individual legislators by writing heart-felt letters over the need to spend more dollars to have more troopers patrolling Minnesotaís highways to make them safer for all motorists.
Those are dollars residents are willing to spend.
Forest Lake Times
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