According to the FBI, there were 17,250 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in the United States in 2016. These crimes always generate a feeling of fear and a demand for enforcement in all police jurisdictions. However, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2016, there were 37,461 deaths due to traffic fatalities in the United States. This is nearly double the rate of murders and a 5.6 percent increase over 2015 statistics, but these deaths do not seem to generate the fear and demands for enforcement actions that the murder statistics generate. These statistics and overall increase in traffic deaths show that traffic law enforcement should also be a priority in police departments across the United States, and, indeed, worldwide.
Traffic Safety Initiatives: Stopping “Silent Killers” with Traffic Enforcement
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While alcohol and prescription drugs continue to pose subst...
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