Broken Arrow Police Work Crashes, Traffic Enforcement During Winter Storm

Thursday was a busy day for law enforcement across Green Country because of the snow and slick streets.

Officer Allie Stanton works in Broken Arrow Police’s Traffic Specialist Unit and says on days like Thursday it’s not just about responding to crashes but making sure drivers are going the speed limit.

PATROLLING THE STREETS

Stanton says days with winter weather are busy.

"Usually when the weather is bad like this, we do have an increase in collisions, just because when the roadway gets wet and icy, the tires lose friction and people tend to bump into each other,” said Stanton.

WORKING CRASHES

Broken Arrow Police responded to at least five crashes on Thursday.

"My primary responsibility is collisions, so if there's a collision that goes out, we will go to that,” said Stanton. “When I'm not working a crash, I'm doing speed enforcement or other traffic enforcement. It's not always speed, sometimes it's intersection enforcement."

SPEED ENFORCEMENT

Stanton also ticketed a driver for speeding on Thursday because she says it’s important to show drivers they need to slow down and be careful in bad weather.

"With the roads being wet, people can't stop as quickly as they would if they needed to, especially when they're coming down a hill or on a windy curve and they're exceeding the speed limit,” said Stanton. “This weather makes it more imperative to slow down and be extra cautious."

PREPARING FOR THE COLD

Stanton says they have to spend extra time preparing to handle the winter weather so they can respond to every call.

"We carry de-icer and ice scrapers and stuff like that,” said Stanton. “Making sure we have extra coats and hats, gloves, that type of thing. Because if there is a bad crash and we end up directing traffic for an extended amount of time, we want to make sure that we're protected from the cold."

LOOKING FOR HAZARDS

Stanton says officers look for cars that might be stranded and people who need help.

She also says they look for patches of standing water that may freeze overnight, and call into city crews to get that taken care of.