Specialized Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP)
The Byron Police Department (Byron PD) is fortunate enough to have a dedicated Specialized Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). This unit is comprised of two officers of the uniformed Patrol Division.
The mission of this unit is to reduce traffic accidents and deaths through the stringent enforcement of traffic laws.
A major goal of this unit is the reduction of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenses and aggressive driving. Tailgating, speeding, and cutting off other drivers ("road rage") are examples of common aggressive driving behaviors.
All officers assigned to the Specialized Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) are required to participate in educational and community awareness programs throughout the year. These programs consist of presentations to the student bodies of local Peach County middle schools and high schools on Teen Driving Safety and the "Newly Licensed" program.
These officers also educate the public about properly buckling up children and the use of child safety restraints (car seats). The officers attend safety fairs hosted by civic organizations and make other presentations as requested. This unit coordinates its efforts with the local chapters of MADD, SADD, and Safe Kids of Georgia.
The STEP officers stringently enforce laws related to proper safety restraint usage for adults and children, laws governing speed enforcement, and impaired and aggressive driving. Each officer is armed with materials to educate Byron's citizens and visitors about the laws related to each of these areas.
One the STEP officers' key duties is to respond to traffic complaints. For example, if there is an area in the city where drivers are consistently ignoring traffic law, residents are encouraged to call and report these unlawful actions to the Byron PD. The STEP officers will respond to the residents' calls by increasing police visibility in these specified areas. Observed unlawful actions will result in traffic citations.
During holiday seasons, the Specialized Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) officers are required to participate in specialized patrols. These patrols, commonly referred to as "task forces," operate under adjusted hours and crack down on the impaired and dangerous drivers. It is these drivers who place hundreds of innocent lives in peril every year. The STEP officers will aggressively monitor speed and seat belt usage. These task forces will hold joint road checks and combined concentrated patrols on connecting Interstate, Georgia highways, and city streets throughout our jurisdiction during these holiday periods. The STEP unit also participates in traffic enforcement events sponsored by the Governors Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), as well as those hosted by other rural neighboring cities.
The STEP unit recognizes that education and enforcement must go hand-in-hand if we are to be successful in reducing the number of serious injury and fatality motor vehicle crashes on our roadways. The STEP unit is tasked with investigating all fatal motor vehicle crashes, responding to serious injury crashes, and investigating and reviewing all hit-and-run accidents.
Each patrol vehicle assigned to the Specialized Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) is equipped with state-of-the-art speed detection equipment such as LIDAR (laser), mobile data terminals, and digital recording cameras. The camera equipment is installed for officer safety purposes and evidence documentation.
Each STEP officer has received extensive formal training in the various areas of traffic enforcement.
To submit a traffic complaint via email, send your note to traffic@byronpd.org or click here. Please include your name, address, and telephone number so that we can contact you if we need more information about the traffic problems you have observed. |
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