The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office continues to partner with the Iowa State Patrol in special traffic enforcement initiatives as a part of Iowa’s High Five Rural Traffic Safety program. Carroll was identified as a High Five County at the onset of this year by the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, mainly due to the number of fatality traffic accidents involving impaired driving. Over the course of the year, the agencies have banded together to not only enforce the rules unique to rural roadways, but to also educate and inform citizens about hazards and dangerous behaviors and how to avoid them when getting behind the wheel. The most recent enforcement action was held on Saturday, July 14. They made one arrest for operating while intoxicated or impaired and two for open container violations while also distributing 13 speed and three stop sign or stop light violation warnings. There were eight equipment warnings and only one for seatbelt usage. According to Lt. Jon Cretsinger of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the goal of this initiative is not to go out and hand out tickets, but rather to increase safety on the county’s roads through higher visibility and education and ultimately to record zero fatalities, “a goal we can all live with.”
