Two crashes in the last week have left a pedestrian and a bicyclist dead, and now, the NOPD says it will be cracking down on drivers who operate recklessly and put others in danger.
However, the head of the NOPD's traffic division says drivers themselves can help cut down on the number of crashes just by using common sense.
"Stop being distracted. Stop speeding. Slow down," NOPD Captain Buddy Micheu said, urging drivers to "put (their) phone down" while driving. "We're seeing distracted driving, speed, and then also levels of impairment."
Micheu says NOPD traffic patrol officers will stop you if you're speeding or driving distracted.
"We're constantly putting proactive teams out there to do saturation patrols, directed enforcements, and motorcycle enforcement with numerous citations being written in that area," Micheu said. "We want people to take individual accountability and responsibility while they're driving a vehicle. It's no different than you possessing a weapon. That vehicle is a weapon when you're going plus-40 miles-per-hour that something could step out in front of you."
According to Micheu, those patrol efforts are working. He says so far this year, New Orleans's fatal crash rate is down 33 percent from last year. Still, Micheu says the onus is on drivers themselves to protect themselves and everyone else--including pedestrians and bicyclists--on area roadways.
"When we're on our roadway, we have to share our roadways with our pedestrians, our bicyclists, and our motorists at all times," Micheu said.
