Cook
On Tuesday, Mayor Andy Cook launched Westfield’s new SafeRoads campaign. It is a city-wide effort to reduce the number of personal injury and fatality automobile crashes in Westfield. Along with the mayor’s office, the efforts include the Westfield Police Department and the Westfield Department of Public Works.
“Westfield is a safe, family-oriented community but in the last year, we have seen our accidents tick up 5 percent,” said Cook. “Statistics also show that 90 percent of accidents are caused by human error. That means they are preventable. We are going to try and prevent some of those accidents.”
The SafeRoads campaign will have four focus areas:
- Education: The City will implement ongoing awareness campaigns around the dangers of distracted driving, drunk driving, etc.
- Enforcement: The Westfield Police Department will target the top 10 accident locations in the city, as well as focus on distracted drivers.
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Environment: The Westfield Police Department and the Westfield Department of Public Works will look at removing permanent structures adjacent to roads, improving sight lines, lane markings and intersection lighting. The City is also working with the Indiana Department of Transportation on making improvements to several intersections along State Road 32.
- Advocacy: Mayor Cook will push for new laws on cell phone usage in vehicles and restricting utility poles in “Clear Zones.”
“Westfield is a thriving city, with that, we have more cars on our roads,” said Westfield Police Chief Joel Rush. “As a community, we can do a lot to make our roads safer. We need to follow the rules of the road, be aware of our surroundings and use only hands-free cell phone technology when driving.”
Already this year, Mayor Cook mandated that any City of Westfield employee in a city vehicle be prohibited from using a cell phone while driving. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a national effort to educate motorists on the dangers of distracted driving and eliminate preventable deaths. Nationwide, 8 percent of accidents are linked to distracted driving.
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