30 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: AUGUST 2017 W ith few e x c e p - t i o n s , the lead- ing cause of law enforcement deaths is traffic-related incidents, with a surprisingly high number of those incidents being single-vehicle crash- es. The number of single- vehicle crashes in 2017 is on course to outpace the previous two years with 11 single-vehicle crash fatali- ties so far this year. This result is troubling in that we’re only half- way through this year. The number is equal to the total number of single-vehicle crash fatalities in 2016 and more than 70 percent of the number of fatalities in the same category in 2015. The research team at the National Law Enforce- ment Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) has care- fully examined five years of traffic-related fatality data comprising 152 line-of-duty deaths sustained in auto- mobile crashes between 2012-2016, finding that 71, or 47 percent of these deaths, were single-vehicle crashes. Considering all of the dangers facing law en- forcement officers, single- vehicle crashes may be the most preventable — in most cases the officer has the most control in this situation, more than when responding to a domestic disturbance incident or an armed suspect. The officer has control over whether to wear a seatbelt, as well as manag- ing the speed at which the vehicle is operated based on road or other outside conditions. Because many times single-vehicle crashes are preventable, law enforce- ment officers have the up- per hand when deciding what in-car distractions can be eliminated or the maximum rate-of-speed to travel, both of which can come into play in single- vehicle crash fatalities. Of the single-vehicle crash fatality data exam- ined between 2012-2016, nearly half (42 percent) of the officers were not wear- ing seatbelts. In response to numbers like this, law enforcement agencies of all sizes around the country are develop- ing policies and strategies to encourage their offi- cers to wear their seatbelts. The Las Vegas (NV) Metropolitan Police De- partment created a safety campaign around seatbelt usage called, “Belt Up.” Some elements of their safety program include posting messages related to seatbelt usage throughout the stations, the fleet lot and even inside the cruis- ers. Officers also received weekly driver safety mes- saging and the department discontinued the use of seatbelt extenders. Other departments are beginning to utilize telemat- ics, an interdisciplinary sys- tem that encompasses tele- communications, vehicular technologies, road trans- portation, road safety, and electrical engineering (sen- sors, instrumentation, wire- less communications, etc.). Telematics helps depart- ments evaluate the driving habits of their officers, in- cluding whether the officer is wearing a seatbelt. Officers have died in accidents where wearing a seatbelt might have helped themsurvive.OnAugust20, 2012, Police Officer Adrian Morris was in pursuit of robbery suspects on an in- terstate in Prince George’s County (MD) when an- other vehicle stopped sud- denly on the road. When Officer Mor- ris swerved to avoid a collision, he lost control of his patrol car, struck a guardrail and fell into a ravine. Be c a u s e the officer wasn’t wear- ing his seat- belt, he was thrown from the vehicle and suffered fatal head injuries. Speed is another area in which departments can enact policies to combat officer fatalities. The Memorial Fund re- search team analyzed all speeds, both posted and actual, as they were listed on each vehicle’s crash report, finding that in 18 percent of single-vehicle crashes, speed was listed at over 100 mph or as a contributing factor in the crash. Speed was a contributing factor when Mark Taul- bee, of the Hodgenville (KY) Police Department, was killed when pursuing a suspect who had fled a scene in a stolen vehicle. During the pursuit, Of- ficer Taulbee lost control of his patrol vehicle at a high speed and struck an embank- ment. Depart- ments and leadership can get in front of this issue much in the way that the Yolo County (CA) Police De- partment did. The depart- ment utilized technology they already had in dash cam alerts to assist in re- ducing the number of of- ficer crashes. Officials began monitor- ing the occasions in which the dash cam on a cruiser would send an alert any- time the operator drove 90 mph or above. Car crashes taking too many lives THESE OFFICERS ARE NO LONGER WITH US. On left, Officer Adrian Morris, Prince George’s County (MD) Police Department; on right, Mark Taulbee, of the Hodgenville (KY) Police Department. I N T H E L I N E O F D U T Y Vehicle crashes are taking the lives of too many of our officers; we can, we must do better by Desiree Luongo Continued on page 34 Officers have died in accidents in which wearing a seatbelt might have helped them survive crashes.