STOPP Operation against distracted driving

A crackdown on distracted driving in a Central Coast city, police amped up patrols in Marina. Part of a program called STOPP.

It’s a monthly operation that brings together Central Coast police departments. Together they saturate parts of the peninsula looking to prevent crashes.

STOPP or the Strategic Traffic Operations and Prevention Program was based in Marina this month. April just so happens to also be distracted driving month, exactly what officers like Sergeant Eddie Anderson hopes operations like STOPP prevent.

“Distracted driving, speeding, any type of violation like that is what we’re heavily enforcing today” Sergeant Eddie Anderson with Marina Police Department said.

Sergeant Anderson and fellow officers used advanced radar to pull over drivers. These tools can see cars more than 2000 feet away.

The numbers show, radar works.

According to some of the numbers Sergeant Anderson shared with KION, one driver’s vehicle was impounded due to a suspended license. Another was arrested for outstanding warrants. The numbers also show that the majority of drivers stopped received citations. Most for speeding and using a cell phone while driving.

Still Anderson says the goal was not handing out those citations, its about getting a message to those on the road.

“We don’t rate our success on the amount of tickets that we write today” said Sergeant Anderson. “What we take pride in is how many people we come in contact with that we can speak to in hopes of them taking their driving more seriously.”