Highland Police Department seeks grants to help increase patrols, reduce accidents

Highland’s traffic crashes are on the rise, and Highland Police are seeking grants to help them slow everyone down.

Highland Police Chief Carole Widman said that personal injury accidents have almost doubled since last year. In the 2024 annual police report, fatal accidents rose nearly 45 percent, from 21 crashes in 2022 to 43 in 2023. Hit and run accidents also doubled, from 9 to 18.

And while property damage crashes didn’t double, they did go up to 157, the highest number since before the pandemic.

“Now our numbers aren’t what they’d be in Edwardsville and Collinsville,” Widman said, but the percentage is of concern.

Widman said they have analyzed crash data over the last five years, and the largest number of traffic crashes occurred on Troxler Avenue. It wasn’t specific to any age or demographic, and the causes of the accidents varied: failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, use of electronic communication devices, distracted driving and others.

“The rules of the road are there for a reason,” Widman said.

Part of the reduction process is making traffic stops, trying to get drivers’ attention back on the rules of the road. Traffic citations numbered 211 in 2023, or nearly half of all citations issued by Highland Police last year. That meant the total number of citations was nearly 54 percent higher than the year before.

“We’re not trying to hurt the public by writing them tickets,” Widman said. “We want to help them keep safe and make sure our community is safe to drive, to walk, and to ride their bikes.”

The biggest culprits, Widman said, are speeding and distraction: and distraction isn’t always the often-blamed cell phone. It can be a phone, or a GPS device, or the kids in the car.

“It’s not focusing on what you’re doing,” Widman said. “Failure to reduce speed means you couldn’t stop in time, so you’re speeding or you’re being distracted from your driving.”

Widman said they haven’t seen as much impaired driving as one might expect, but drivers have a lot to distract them in their cars these days. GPS devices are a frequent culprit, even as they are supposed to help drivers get to their destination. “Stop hyper-focusing on GPS,” Widman suggested. “When you take your eyes off the road, you’re not looking forward, you’re looking at a screen.

Highland Police have applied for an annual grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which has been approved but the amount has not been declared yet. Those grants will add traffic patrols in the hopes of reducing the number of crashes.

Widman said so far, 2024 is looking to be as bad as 2023, which is another reason for the grants. “We’re looking to get those numbers down in the second half of the year,” she said. “We’re asking people to be aware, be safe, and put their phones down.”