Amherst Police place first in traffic-safety competition

The Amherst Police Department in May took first place in an annual competition organized by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and the state’s Highway Safety Division.

The 17 municipal police departments that took part in the competition were rated on traffic-safety criteria including officer training, public outreach, and enforcement activity. The contest requires that police departments furnish three years of statistics on speeding, seat-belt and impaired-driving citations, as well as totals and types of roadway crashes. Applicants are also asked to provide written testimony of the steps they have taken to enhance traffic safety.

In Amherst, such steps included programs to increase compliance with baby-seat and seatbelt requirements, according to Police Captain Christopher Pronovost.

As a result of its first-place finish, Amherst received an electronic speed board that was donated by a vendor. The speed board notifies motorists when they are driving too fast and furnishes data that can alert police to the need for traffic-calming measures.

A speed board costs more than $5,000. Given the budget pressures that Amherst and other communities are facing, Pronovost said, “It would have been very difficult to buy one of these.”

Sturbridge, the first-place winner in last year’s traffic-safety contest, finished second this year, while Beverly took third. Rankings of all 17 municipal entries can be viewed by going to www.mass.gov/eops and clicking on “Public Safety Agencies,” then “Highway Safety Division” and then “Massachusetts Law Enforcement Challenge.”