The Wheels are In Motion
UT-Houston PD Begins Traffic Enforcement in TMC

Due to an increase in the Texas Medical Center traffic flow, The University of Texas at Houston Police Department began patrolling to enforce the traffic laws, as mandated in the Texas Criminal and "Traffic Law Manual," July 16.

"As a result of some studies that have been commissioned by the Texas Medical Center, it is anticipated that traffic activity will increase by 2,000 cars a year," said Lt. Paul Willingham, UT-Houston Police Department Traffic Enforcement Commander. "Traffic density is only going to get worse."

With current construction projects affecting TMC traffic patterns, the police department is concerned for the safety of all visitors to the Texas Medical Center.

"We have seen situations where pedestrians have been in peril from speeding automobiles, running through crosswalks and pedestrian jaywalking. With that in mind, we decided that it was time to start enforcing traffic," Willingham said.

Public university police departments in the state of Texas have been given full police authority by the education code.

"In our case, we have jurisdiction in just about any county in the state. Since our campus is in Harris County, we have Harris County-wide jurisdiction, so we can make traffic stops and write tickets for violations that occur on any city street, if we need to," Willingham said.

Police Chief Charlie Price said he hopes the new service will help reduce the number of traffic incidents involving vehicles and pedestrians and improve the overall patient, employee and student safety.

Since the new program's inception, most stops have occurred on some of the busiest streets in and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center and UT-Houston property, including Holcombe, Braeswood, Fannin, and Cambridge Drive.

Officer Mark Smith, who has been with the UT-Houston Police Department for five years, said the new patrol units have averaged about 20 stops per day.

All stops are video taped and reviewed for quality assurance - this protects both the traffic violator and the officers making the stops. The officers also wear microphones to provide an audio record of the conversation that transpired.

"We use the tapes for court appearances and training purposes," said Willingham," and of course they are there for evidence if there is a complaint."

The department uses radar to detect speeding violations. The patrol cars are equipped to run both stationary (the patrol car is parked and traffic is moving) and moving (the patrol car is moving along in traffic) radar.

For those stopped for moving violations where radar was used, keep in mind that the officers are not obligated to show the speed if asked to see it. It is a courtesy if they choose to show it, but not required.

The department's mission is to enhance vehicular and pedestrian safety in the Texas Medical Center, and officers are striving to have voluntary compliance of the traffic laws from the citizens who spend time in and around the Texas Medical Center area.

"It is dangerous when there is more than one lane of traffic where there are pedestrians crossing, and one car stops for the pedestrians and another doesn't," Willingham said. "It is important to get compliance from all drivers, and we're hoping that the citations will do that."

For example, John Freeman Boulevard is divided by a median and there are crosswalks in several places along the boulevard, Willingham said. When pedestrians are standing in the median, the median is still considered part of the crosswalk, therefore the pedestrians have the right of way, and vehicles need to stop and let them by.

"The bottom line is education, engineering and enforcement," Willingham said.

The department strives to educate as many people as they can on why everyone needs to comply with traffic laws, especially in a busy, high-traffic environment such as the Texas Medical Center. The department also works with city engineers to figure out where the high-traffic areas are so steps can be taken to install such measures as crosswalks with lights, to ensure safety. And then the officers enforce the rules.

In addition to regular traffic enforcement duties, the officers have been spending time on extra educational activities, doing things such as researching better traffic flow patterns, encouraging pedestrian use of crosswalks, and speaking to neighborhood groups on programs like National Night Out and C.O.P. - Citizen's On Patrol, a UT-Houston Police Department program.

"We understand human nature," said Officer Scott Barnwell, who has been with the UT-Houston Police Department for five years. "We know that people generally choose the shortest distance between two points. So by collaborating with the engineering folks, we can develop an environment that is safer and corrects the flow of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. We want to avoid the chance of an accident happening."

The UT-Houston Police Department is a nationally accredited law enforcement agency through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., the national law enforcement accrediting agency, established in 1979. The University of Texas Police Department is the only university police department in the state to be accredited, and each patrol car carries the commission's emblem.

The UT-Houston Police Department is located at 7777 Knight Road. For more information, call (713) 792-2890, or visit the department's Web site at http://www3.mdanderson.org/depts/facilities/utpd.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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