Tulsa Police Department Looks To Reduce The Number Of Fatal Crashes

The Tulsa Police Department responded to over 9,500 collisions in 2022. 60 of those wrecks were fatal, with 19 involving pedestrians, so it's trying something new to reduce that number this year.

TPD's traffic safety coordinator, Lieutenant Paul Madded said that the push for 2023 is to focus on drivers and pedestrians that officers see breaking the law or city ordinances. Lt. Madden said that TPD is going to try and educate people on city laws and traffic ordinances.

Madden said that drivers and pedestrians should learn about the Travel With Care Tulsa public awareness campaign from INCOG and the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. Madded said that it will provide tips on the rules of the road for drivers and pedestrians while also making the job easier for Tulsa Police.

"It can eliminate the overall work, if you will, of working a fatality, collision, or major injury collision. It can eliminate that work for us, and also psychologically speaking, we don’t have to tell anyone’s family that they are not coming home, so it benefits the Tulsa Police Department many different ways," Lt. Madden said.

Lt. Madden said that TPD would rather educate people about the travel laws instead of simply enforcing them.

"We would rather educate than enforce. I do that quite a bit, or our officers do that quite a bit, but we need to do that more often and just keep those reminders going of how to stay safe when we are doing our traveling as pedestrians," Lt. Madden said.