The State of Omaha’s Traffic Unit
Photo by Jordan Andrews on Unsplash (It’s not of an Omaha officer, but I really dig this photo)
For years now, it has seemed to me that there are fewer traffic officers in Omaha. Anecdotally, I believe I used to see more people being pulled over for speeding infractions, etc, in years passed, but I didn’t have anything to back it up. So I went digging. . . .
Let’s first go back a bit. . .
Being appointed to the Vision Zero Technical Advisory Committee as the SOS representative has afforded me privileged participation in the development of Omaha’s first Vision Zero Action Plan. But it has also afforded me the opportunity to meet folks from the Omaha Police Department, specifically the Traffic Unit.
Both Lieutenant Straub and Sergeant Menning have been great resources to the Vision Zero TAC and to me as well. Additionally, and probably most importantly, the officers on the TAC are the ones who seem most desperate for safety improvements on our roads because they see the trauma and tragedy of crashes on a daily basis. This does indeed hit home for them.
What does the Traffic Unit Do?
Let’s start with the little bit I’ve learned about our traffic unit. First off, whenever we talk about enforcement in the City of Omaha, Lt Straub reminds the committee that Omaha is a city of over 140 square miles with about 5,000 lane miles of road; it’s a lot to cover.
The size of the city and the amount of road reminds me that just because I’m not seeing police in the areas I drive, doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. And the Omaha Traffic Unit focuses on the WHOLE city as well as major expressways.
Traffic unit officers conduct specific traffic-related enforcement within different areas of the city, all of which usually change monthly. They mostly concentrate on areas of concern provided by the public. Each month, the traffic unit receives a list from the City Council, Mayor’s Hotline, and direct complaints from citizens. Lt Straub compiles that list and provides it to his officers. (You can learn more about this process and how you can get on the enforcement list by reading our earlier post called Perception vs. Reality in Citizen-driven Complaints)
In addition to those areas, the traffic unit concentrates on Dodge Street and other major thoroughfares throughout the day and night. Lt Straub may also add additional locations to the roster where recent crashes have occurred. Going where the crashes are isn’t just the domain of the traffic unit as officers from other precincts can check out a radar device and conduct traffic enforcement in an area that they know to be a problem for speeding and crashes.
Speaking of radar, every recruit – not just the Traffic Unit – receives training in radar devices. And each precinct has a certain amount of hand-held radar devices that can be checked out. The Traffic Unit, however, has radar devices mounted inside their vehicles. And just because another officer doesn’t have a hand-held device doesn’t mean they can’t pull someone over for suspected speeding; however, the officer must be able to articulate that the driver was indeed speeding. Lt Straub did remind me that other circumstances, such as reckless driving, are often layered with speeding, and drivers can be pulled over for that – no radar needed!
The Traffic Unit also goes to the scene of serious injury and fatality crashes. If there is a Code3 TCC (trauma center candidate), that often indicates there is a “serious injury,” so Traffic Unit officers are deployed to those crashes. Have you ever wondered what exactly a serious injury is? Well, it can include compound fractures, head/neck injury, significant trauma to the body, loss of limb, etc. The “look” of a crash doesn’t always indicate how serious the injuries are either. The Traffic Unit no longer responds to non-injury crashes. So if you call 9-1-1 after a non-injury crash, police will not respond.
The Traffic Unit also participates in education. They have a squad called Project Night Life that specifically works with educating teens on risky driving behaviors. Officers have provided presentations to thousands of metro-area high school students and other teen groups on these behaviors. As part of the Project Night Life effort, there are also NDOT grant-funded enforcement operations specifically intended to reduce teen-related crashes in Omaha.
Lastly, did you know that beyond traffic, the Traffic Unit also participates in functions around the city, like parades and large events? With events like these, think the current College World Series, the Traffic Unit’s presence is more about public safety than about enforcement.
So How Big is Omaha’s Traffic Unit?
One of my favorite tangible tasks I’ve learned since we started SOS is how to conduct a public records request. I’ve done this twice now through the City of Omaha’s Police Department, and it’s always a slick and respectful process.
A couple of weeks ago, I submitted a request to find out just how many officers we have on Omaha’s Traffic Unit, both now and over the past decade.
I have to say, based on everything the Traffic Unit does in our city, I was floored at the data I received in reply to my public records request.
For a city with a population of 486,051 (based on the latest census data from 2020), Omaha currently has 34 people in the Traffic Unit. This number includes both command and officers.
THIRTY-FOUR.
It can be argued that the work of the Traffic Unit is supplemented by other entities. Specifically, the Traffic Unit uses more than just its own traffic officers. They are also supported by Nebraska State Patrol and Douglas County, who also conduct enforcement. Further, the City of Omaha’s Traffic Unit conducts grant operations where they recruit officers from other precincts to join in the effort.
So if the Traffic Unit currently employs 34 people, how big (or small) was the Traffic Unit in previous years?
Well, here’s the breakdown for the past 10 years:
Year Traffic Unit Staff
2014 - 39
2015 - 38
2016 - 38
2017 - 39
2018 - 38
2019 - 39
2020 - 36
2021 - 38
2022 - 38
2023 - 34
According to census data, from 2010 to 2020 Omaha’s population increased from 408,958 to 468,051, which is about a 15 percent increase. An article from August of 2021 on the City of Omaha website echoes the total population of 468,051 but indicates the population increased by 19%.
Yet from 2014 to 2023, the Traffic Unit decreased its staff from 39 to 34, which results in a 12.82 percent decrease.
Over the decade, the average number of Traffic Unit officers/command was 37.7. We are still lower than that now.
I wondered how the size of our Traffic Unit correlated with traffic fatalities during those same years and as you’ll see below there really isn’t any significant correlation between a larger traffic unit and fewer fatalities or vice versa.
Year Traffic Unit staff Fatal Crashes
2014 39 No data
2015 38 (decrease) 38
2016 38 (no change) 28 (decrease)
2017 39 (increase) 35 (increase)
2018 38 (decrease) 32 (decrease)
2019 39 (increase) 30 (decrease)
2020 36 (decrease) 38 (increase)
2021 38 (increase) 31 (decrease)
2022 38 (no change) 39 (increase)
2023 34 (decrease) Data through April = 15
But Traffic Enforcement Can Affect Safety
There is great debate, and not a lot of consensus, over whether or how much the presence of enforcement influences safe driving. Many of the studies that indicate an increased presence of traffic enforcement is correlated with a decrease in dangerous driving behavior agree that High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) is the most effective strategy of enforcement, and that the window for sustained behavior change is small, ie, reductions in illegal driving behavior often last only 3 to 4 weeks after enforcement.
HVE is something we talk about as a strategy at our Vision Zero meetings. If you’re into getting nerdy about HVE, check out this comprehensive and interesting HVE toolkit by the NHTSA!
If you just want to know what HVE is, then read below:
High Visibility Enforcement combines enforcement, visibility elements, and a publicity strategy to educate the public and promote voluntary compliance with the law. Checkpoints, saturation patrols and other HVE strategies should include increased publicity and warnings to the public. Although forewarning the public might seem counterproductive to apprehending violators, it actually increases the deterrent effect. (emphasis added)
The HVE concept is a departure from traditional law enforcement tactics. HVE incorporates enforcement strategies, such as enhanced patrols using visibility elements (e.g. electronic message boards, road signs, command posts, BAT mobiles, etc.) designed to make enforcement efforts obvious to the public. It is supported by a coordinated communication strategy and publicity. HVE may also be enhanced through multi-jurisdictional efforts and partnerships between people and organizations dedicated to the safety of their community.
Anecdotally, it could be argued that the presence of traffic enforcement will reduce traffic infractions. While I personally don’t speed or run red lights and am committed to stopping at stop signs, etc., I also wouldn’t necessarily be concerned about being stopped if I did NOT drive legally because it “seems” like I see fewer police than I used to a decade ago. However, I’m a white middle-aged cis-gendered woman, so my experience and/or lack of agitation over being stopped by police is COMPLETELY different from BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ people. The topic of enforcement is both delicate and incendiary. Because of a history of systemic racism in both our society and our institutions, it is no wonder that especially in this post-Floyd era the idea of increased enforcement could be taken as an attack on safety. All enforcement should be fair, safe and equitable. But as you’ll read in this recent article title “Using Loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convicting them of crimes” from the Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska enforcement can be controversial.
So How Does Enforcement Fit Into Vision Zero?
One of the first questions I asked at our introductory Vision Zero TAC meeting was if enforcement would be included in the Vision Zero plan, and I was told that “yes,” enforcement is included in the Vision Zero approach. However, since Vision Zero incorporates the Safe System Approach, enforcement is included but definitely not dominant.
The Safe System Approach is a data-driven, holistic, and equitable method to roadway safety that fully integrates the needs of all users, anticipates the possibility of errors by drivers and other road users, and manages crash impact forces to levels tolerated by the human body. The Safe System Approach includes five elements: safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe roads, and post-crash care. The approach incorporates the 5 Es of traffic safety—equity, engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services (EMS)—but goes beyond the traditional approach to enlist designers, operators, and users of the transportation system to prevent fatal crashes and reduce crash severity. NHTSA’s efforts focus on safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, and post-crash care. [emphasis added]
Specifically, the type of enforcement that is currently included as a countermeasure in the Draft Vision Zero Action Plan due out later this summer is HVE.
One other way that enforcement influences safer driving behavior is through ticket dismissal/deferment programs like the ones you can take at the Nebraska Chapter of the National Safety Council. Their website puts it best:
Take a class and you'll avoid the points and fines up front. You won't plead guilty, you don't have to go to court, and you don't have to pay your ticket. No points will be assessed against your driver’s license and you may save on car insurance costs. In class, you'll learn life-saving driving techniques that will change your life forever. [Emphasis added]
Think about this for a second. . . each citation that is eligible for dismissal via training, could result in another motorist who receives education on safe driving! The fewer citations we have, the fewer options there are for drivers to receive continuing education. And you only have to drive around this city or look at just some of the data to see that people around Omaha do NOT know how drive safely or legally.
With the latest numbers showing that the Omaha Police Department is 83 officers short of its budgeted amount and the City actively recruiting officers with an increase in pay, I do hope that the Traffic Unit is prioritized. We have 12% fewer people on Omaha’s Traffic Unit this year than we did 10 years ago, yet the city’s population has grown.
The responsibilities of the Traffic Unit go well beyond just traffic stops to encompass public safety and education. If High Visibility Enforcement stays in the Vision Zero Action Plan as a safety countermeasure to support all the other safety measures, including design, engineering, education, etc., then we will need a well-staffed Traffic Unit. Additionally, there’s the theory that the more citations issued means more of the general public will receive safe driving education (look for a whole post dedicated to that topic alone!).
Lastly, serving on the Vision Zero TAC has shown me not just the hard data of death, but the toll it takes on everyone, and if a more robust Traffic Unit can reduce serious injuries and fatalities on our roads, then I am all for it.
What are your thoughts? Don’t be shy, comment below!