On the heels of several serious car crashes, Oxford police and troopers from Southbury went on an enforcement blitz last week.
On Friday, police issued 70 tickets for a variety of violations, First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers said.
The extra patrols were brought in upon the recommendation of Oxford Resident State Trooper Dan Semosky, Drayton-Rogers said.
Police concentrated on state roads, such as routes 67, 34, 42 and 188.
“I wanted the concentration to be done particularly on state roads, where the accidents have been happening,” Drayton-Rogers said.
An 18-year-old Oxford High School student was seriously injured Nov. 29 in a crash on Route 188.
Drayton-Rogers said police will continue the stepped-up enforcement. Local police are also concentrating on local roads.
Many of the tickets have been issued on the roads near Oxford High School, where the students were driving to when both accidents happened.
Interim Superintendent of Schools James Connelly said he supports the state police heavily patrolling the area to help remind students they must follow driving rules. Connelly said that several of the tickets have gone to adults, though.
“If you did get a ticket on 188, blame me,” Connelly said Tuesday.
Drayton-Rogers said she has asked Troop A to continue helping out in Oxford when available.
“I don’t want it to be a one time,” Drayton-Rogers said. “I want everyone who travels the Oxford roads to know that speed limits will be enforced.”
School Responds
Oxford High School has also responded to the recent crashes by planning a safe driver training course for students who drive to school. It will be a requirement for students who want to have a parking pass. The course will be held on Friday morning, and will feature state police and representatives from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Connelly said Tuesday.
The DMV officials will explain to students that their licenses can be revoked if they violate new-driver restrictions, Connelly said.
“That’s one of the reasons we’re involving just the kids with the licenses for now,” Connelly said. “We want to say to the kids ‘These are the rules. And if you don’t obey them, the state police will enforce it.’”
Parents and school officials Tuesday said they were happy about the safe driving course, but some want to see it expanded to also include students who don’t drive to school.
Connelly said that’s the intent. The school will host a parent group, Mourning Parents Act, for all students in January, and the high school is planning other workshops for upcoming months.
Connelly said he hopes that parents and family members are invited to upcoming events as well.
Let’s hope this isn’t a one-time deal for Oxford. Knowing we have dangerous roads in town, they should be policing the roads constantly – make people afraid to drive through town. And I know parents cannot control what their kids do once they pull out of the driveway, but I also know there are a lot of parents who do not agree with the “no passenger” law and know and let their kids drive others around. How sad. The kids learn from their parents, so if their parents think it’s no big deal to break the law, so will the kids. I think the cops should snag the kids arriving and departing school with passengers. I also think the state should require new drivers who cannot drive passengers to place a brightly colored sticker on the front and rear windows of their vehicle so the cops can look at a glance and know if there are supposed to be passengers or not. There are so many little, inexpensive things that can be done to make this easier to follow. Good luck Oxford. One more thing, the adults are just as bad if not worse in Oxford with their driving habits, so don’t just focus on the kids.