Traffic Division

Supervised by Sergeant S. Laney (530) 542-6123   slaney@cityofslt.us

 

Traffic safety is among the highest priorities for our community. South Lake Tahoe is a resort community.  Free alcohol is commonly provided to patrons on a 24/7 basis at nearby gaming establishments. These establishments are certainly not the sole source easily obtained alcohol in our resort community, however. Consequently, there are an inordinately high number of DUI related offenders and collisions in the City of South Lake Tahoe.  Our city recently ranked second out of 105 similar sized cities in the state for DUI related offenses. U.S. Highway 50 and State Route 89 are both five lane highways through our town.  Although they are both posted for 35mph, because of their width and necessity to use these routes to access the many popular tourist locations, there exists a continual speeding problem.  Unsafe speed is the single most frequent cause of traffic collisions in our city.

 

The evident mindset for the majority of our visitors is that “nothing bad happens on vacation.”  This results in our dealing with a significant number of unrestrained vehicle occupants.  This is an obvious bad mix in an area where DUI is so prevalent.

 

Traffic safety affects the quality of life for everyone living in or visiting our city.  We are mindful that South Lake Tahoe residents and visitors to our beautiful area are our customers.  We take this very seriously.  In 2005, through the help of grants from the Alcoholic Beverage Control and Office of Traffic Safety, we were able to create our own specialized traffic enforcement unit.  Our traffic unit is used as a supplement to our patrol efforts.  We work collectively to increase the number enforcement contacts while reducing the number of fatal and injury collisions. 

 

We regularly participate in the Office of Traffic Safety seatbelt enforcement campaigns such as “Click It or Ticket”.  We also provide our community with comprehensive traffic safety and education programs, which include DUI, child passenger safety restraint education, radar enforcement and continued participation with community based groups and agencies.  All of these efforts are designed to enhance our public’s awareness of the need to buckle up, slow down, and not drink and drive. 

 

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