LEBANON, N.H. (WCAX) – According to officers at the Lebanon Police Department, community members consistently have two main concerns — drugs and bad driving. When it comes to the latter, police are stepping up patrols.
“We’ve responded to in the hundreds probably already this year of accidents,” said Lebanon Police Corporal Dean Bullock.
Within just a few minutes of getting on the road with Bullock, we observed him initiate a traffic stop with a driver who was on his phone. Moments later another Lebanon officer pulled over someone who ran a red light in West Lebanon’s busy 12A shopping corridor. And just after that, another stop — this time for a driver who blocked an intersection.
“We get a lot of distracted driving. People get annoyed sometimes at how long they have to wait in traffic. Trying to beat lights, going through red lights,” Bullock said.
“We see bad driving behavior throughout the city,” said Lebanon Police Chief Phil Roberts. Because of that, he says his officers are conducting high-profile patrols for the next several weeks. The goal is not to issue tickets, but instead, to change behavior. In fact, all the stops during our ride-along ended with verbal warnings. The message to drivers–slow down, put down your phone, and be patient.
“We still understand that there is construction all over the Upper Valley. That feeds into a lack of patience. And once people run out of patience, that is when bad decisions are made,” Roberts said.
“We get that people can be in a rush sometimes, but obviously safety comes first. You can’t make it to where you got to go if you get in an accident,” Bullock said.
Police say they will continue their high-profile patrols through the beginning of the school year.