Wednesday, November 11, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
RECKLESS: Traffic
enforcement is an
opportunity to educate
Continued from page 1
directly in front of Sisters
Middle School, dark black
tire marks tracking across
both lanes bear clear-cut evi-
dence of <burned rubber= on
the road9s surface. Two non-
injury accidents by teenage
drivers on or near Edgington
Road have taken place in the
past two weeks, the direct
result of speeding.
Multiple calls came in to
dispatch again as recently as
Thursday, November 6.
One citizen who lives in
the area of concern wrote to
The Nugget in late October
describing his worry and
frustration about the epi-
demic of reckless driving
that he has witnessed first-
hand, saying, <The stretch
of 242 from Hood Avenue to
the high school has become
a drag strip, and I would add
Edgington Road to that,=
David Purviance wrote. <I9m
not talking about exceeding
the 40 mph speed limit by a
couple of mph; I9m talking
about cars racing at 60-plus
miles per hour, and doing
so extremely recklessly. I
have even witnessed vehicles
speeding on the asphalt walk-
ing path in order to race past
another vehicle.=
Purviance expressed his
concern over the danger to
pedestrians and cyclists, add-
ing, <That path paralleling
the road is used by mothers
jogging while pushing an
infant in a stroller; elderly
people walking; little kids
just learning to ride a bike
as their parents watch; and
bikers heading up and over
McKenzie Pass.=
Comments on local social
media groups have expressed
intense worry in recent weeks
as well. Some posts ques-
tioned whether parents of the
drivers were aware of their
kids9 dangerous behavior.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff 9s Office (DCSO)
shares the community9s
concerns.
Sergeant Jayson Janes,
who works for the Deschutes
County Sheriff 9s Office
Detective Division provided
some statistics dating back to
last spring.
According to Janes
between April 2020 and
October 2020 there were 27
traffic complaints in the area.
SUDOKU
SOLUTION
for puzzle on page 28
He said, <These com-
plaints were regarding speed-
ing vehicles, vehicles racing,
and vehicles peeling out. The
complaints were primarily
made in the early evening
hours. Some of the com-
plaints were reports of people
hearing vehicles racing in the
area. Some of the complaints
were called in after the fact
and requested extra patrols.=
He continued, <Many
times the persons were gone
upon the deputy9s arrival, or
our deputies found the cars
parked in the area, but no one
observed them driving.=
He explained that law
enforcement has to observe
the violation in order to be
able to stop the vehicle and
issue a citation.
According to Janes, the
deputies have made 42 traf-
fic stops in that area since
April. He said, <Based on
how the calls are documented
it is unknown what violations
the drivers were stopped for.
When caught in the act by
law enforcement, drivers
have been issued warnings,
as well as citations.=
Based on the high number
of complaints, the DSCO has
taken more focused action.
The sheriff 9s office has
assigned deputies to work
patrols in areas of concern,
and deputies are being ran-
domly assigned to work this
area, looking specifically for
people racing, speeding, or
any other concerning driving
behavior, according to Janes.
Janes said, <Last week we
had a deputy work specifi-
cally in that area. The dep-
uty spent approximately six
hours working that area. He
observed two violations of
speed and issued warnings.=
In general, Janes
explained, <The Sheriff 9s
Office uses traffic enforce-
ment to educate people in
order to gain voluntary com-
pliance. If that does not work,
and the same people are
stopped committing the same
types of violations, citations
may likely be issued.=
Janes concluded <The
sheriff9s office takes reports
of speeding and racing seri-
ously. We have seen the
effects of crashes where
speed was the main contribut-
ing factor. This type of driv-
ing is not only dangerous to
the occupants of the vehicles,
but to everyone that shares
the roadway. Excessive speed
drastically reduces your reac-
tion time, limiting what can
be done to avoid a collision.
The citizen who wrote
to The Nugget said it will
take a community effort to
curb the problem. Purviance
wrote, <Parents, teachers
and coaches have to have
the serious talk about the
PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG
Highway 242 near Sisters Middle School has become a spot where drivers
speed, race and peel out, leaving rubber on the asphalt. Local residents
have called in multiple traffic complaints and the Deschutes Country
Sheriff’s Office has been working patrols in the area.
potential consequences of
what these young drivers are
doing.=
Janes agrees, saying, <The
sheriff9s office asks that citi-
zens make reports to the
dispatch center if they see
or hear this type of activity
taking place,= he said. <If
possible give the dispatcher
descriptions of the vehicles
involved, and leave your
name and phone number in
case the deputies have any
further questions.=
The nonemergency
DSCO dispatch number is
541-693-6911.
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