By Andrea Noble – The Gazette
The Prince George’s County police department has formed a unit that will exclusively handle traffic enforcement in an effort to reduce the number of car accidents in the county.
…
"What we’re finding in a lot of accidents is, speed is a contributing factor, and also lack of an occupant wearing a seat belt," Tippett said. "In a lot of fatal accidents, they wouldn’t have been fatal if a seat belt had been worn."
…
Last year, 549 people were killed in car accidents in Maryland. Preliminary data show that at least 91 of those fatalities occurred in Prince George’s; of those fatalities, 21 involved pedestrians, Buck said.
…
Prince George’s also has the highest 12-year average of pedestrian fatalities in the state, accounting for an average of 24 percent of the deaths, Buck said. Baltimore City and Baltimore County rank behind Prince George’s, each accounting for 15 percent of pedestrian deaths. [FARS ranks MD the 6th highest pedestrian fatality rate.]
"You do have a unique situation sometimes in Prince George’s, where you have Route[s] 4 and 5 that are very high speeds, but you do have a fair amount of pedestrian activity as well," Buck said of the challenges of lowering the number of pedestrian fatalities.
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/16/AR2010061603129.htmloldId.2010061811093861
Biking in Baltimore