The Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office is enhancing its traffic safety measures and community relations capabilities with the introduction of a motorcycle patrol unit (motor unit) to its vehicle fleet.
The primary purpose of the motor unit will be to enhance traffic enforcement. With a high traffic population, much of which is transient, and four major roadways traversing through Botetourt County, the motor unit will provide a highly visible law enforcement presence and will be an effective law enforcement tool in deterring aggressive driving, distracted driving, DUI detection and apprehension. as well as speeding violations in an effort to reduce traffic crashes and related deaths, injuries and property loss.
Motorcycles in general tend to consume less fuel; they are far less expensive than the typical patrol vehicles, and their smaller size enables the motor to navigate congested traffic effectively and easier than a traditional patrol unit.
“As sheriff, it is my responsibility to ensure the safest possible traffic environment on our community’s roadways and the implementation of the motor unit will give us that added law enforcement tool for the deterrence of high-risk driving behaviors,” said Sheriff Matt Ward.
“Traffic safety data has demonstrated the need for additional traffic enforcement measures,” said Deputy David Moyer, Be Safe Botetourt Traffic Safety Program Manager. “We know this is something different and new to our community and by diversifying our traffic enforcement measures, this will enable us to provide a safer environment for our motoring public.”
“Simply stated, the public safety benefit of the motorcycle will be the increased safety of our community’s roadways,” he said.