Fort Smith Police launch new unit to focus on road safety

The Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) has launched a specialized traffic unit in hopes of making streets in the city a little safer, curtailing the number of traffic accidents and alleviating traffic issues that continue to plague Fort Smith.

The newly established specialized team dedicated to enhancing road safety and ensuring efficient traffic flow within the city began operations Monday (March 18), marking what the department says is a significant step forward in the department’s commitment to public safety and proactive traffic law enforcement.

The unit has eight “highly trained officers” and is led by Sgt. Kyle Story. It is tasked with a range of critical functions, including thorough injury/fatality accident investigations, special patrols, training and awareness, and comprehensive traffic enforcement. Story said by hiring more officers in the department, they were able to add two more motorcycle officers and two more vehicle officers to make up the eight officers in the unit, Story said.

“All the officers in the unit are collision experts and trained in accident reconstruction,” Story said.

Because officers were moved from other areas and equipment has just been moved around, there was no new cost to the department for the unit and there will be no annual cost other than the typical budget for the police department, Story said.

Equipped with motorcycles, traditional police vehicles, and specialized equipment and technologies, the unit will address a variety of issues, with a particular emphasis on mitigating red light running, crosswalk violations, speeding, and other prevalent traffic violations in Fort Smith, the news release said.

Story said traffic is the top concern of citizens in Fort Smith, according to reports to the department. The unit is hoping to fix that.

“The biggest concern is running red lights. I couldn’t tell you how many citizens have brought this up to us,” Story said, noting he has researched the worst intersection for running red lights.

His research shows that some of the worst intersections are Massard Road and Rogers Avenue, Old Greenwood Road and Phoenix Avenue, 74th Street and Rogers Avenue, Phoenix Avenue, and Fifth Street and Garrison Avenue. The majority of traffic accidents involve one, two or more accidents, but while vehicle-pedestrian accidents are more rare, they tend to have much more devastating results, Story said.

The motorcycles and patrol vehicles in the department are equipped with LIDAR laser speed reading devices and officers have accident 3D laser scanners that lets them more easily and efficiently measure accident scenes.

“We used to have to use tape measures. Then we went to survey equipment. Now we have these 3D laser scanners that can make a 3D image of the scene and allow us to measure from that,” Story said.

The targeted approach to traffic policing is designed to reduce accidents, improve mobility, and enhance safety for all city residents and visitors.

“The establishment of the Traffic Unit underscores our ongoing commitment to the safety and well-being of our community,” said Fort Smith Chief of Police Danny Baker. “By addressing key traffic concerns and enforcing laws more effectively, we are taking a proactive step toward reducing traffic-related injuries and fatalities. Our team is ready to make a positive impact, and we look forward to the continued support of the Fort Smith community.”

Story said the hope is that drivers will realize that intersections and streets are being monitored more closely and will pay more attention and be more careful while driving.