There were 12 fatalities in the two county region, only two of them in Northampton County. There were 14 in 2009.
“We did extremely well with the vacancies we had,” Sergeant R.E. Dudley said today.
There are four vacant trooper slots within Troop C, District VIII, Dudley said, and most of the year there were between two to five openings.
It is hard to get troopers to stay in the district, Dudley said, and the vacancies reflect trooper transfers to locations which are nearer their homes. “It’s hard to get them established here when their roots are not here.”
Dudley says, however, the ones here do a tremendous job. “They work extremely well together. They are team players. We are very blessed to have that camaraderie among the troopers.”
While fatal crashes are going to happen, the number of troopers on the road is important, Dudley said.
Visibility cuts down on speeding and other reckless acts on the roadway. “That’s our main focus, to reduce hazardous violations, the higher speeds and bolster the seat belt program.”
Graduation from the academy should help fill the vacancies and the patrol will be doing the things it normally does, increase patrols during holidays and get more troopers trained in LIDAR, which can pinpoint a particular vehicle’s speed in a stream of traffic.
The patrol is still awaiting final results to determine how many of the fatalities in the area were related to alcohol use, Dudley said.
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