Farmington drivers have developed a bit of a lead foot during the coronavirus pandemic.
Overall traffic volume was significantly reduced in late March and most of April when New Mexico issued a stay-at-home order to minimize the spread of COVID-19. During that time, the Farmington Police Department also initiated fewer traffic stops to limit exposure for minor violations, said Nicole Brown, spokeswoman with the agency.
But since then, there has been an uptick in the number of people speeding, street racing and drunken driving, she said.
“Minor violations were turning into more major violations,” Brown said.
Since then, Farmington police have stepped up traffic enforcement.
During a three-day period from July 31 to Aug. 2, Farmington police issued more than 140 citations and made seven arrests for driving while impaired.
Among the drunken driving arrests was Anthony Chee, 46, of Kirtland. Police said Chee’s car was stopped in the middle of an intersection early Aug. 1. Officers contacted him and arrested him on suspicion of his 14th DWI in New Mexico, Brown said.
Officers also arrested Mariesa Avalos, 20, of Kirtland and Amorea Vigil, 18, of Farmington on suspicion of street racing. Avalos was cited two hours earlier on multiple traffic violations. At least three more people have been arrested this month for street racing, Brown said.
“We’ve always kind of had people that will street race, but it was really picking up,” she said.
The Durango Police Department also backed off “non-egregious” traffic stops during March and April when a stay-at-home order was in effect, said Cmdr. Rita Warfield, spokeswoman with the agency.
“At the time, there was hardly any traffic, the streets were bare and officers did not contact drivers unless it was a suspected DUI, reckless or aggressive driving in order to lessen contact for both officers and citizens,” she said.
Now that restrictions have lifted or eased, Warfield said traffic volume has picked up, leading to an increase in crashes.
“We continue to monitor traffic when officers are not tied up on calls, and do respond to problem areas when citizens contact us about excessive speed issues,” she said. “When school starts up, we will be monitoring school zones and will cite drivers.”
The Farmington Police Department produced a video letting residents know officers will be stepping up traffic enforcement. The agency also made yard signs residents can place in their neighborhoods that read: “Slow down Farmington, take your time, not a life.”
In the video, Chief Steve Hebbe says officers tried to “lay low” and stay healthy by keeping their distance. “But lately, we’ve been seeing speeds picking up across Farmington,” he said. “We’ve been getting more complaints of traffic, more complainants of speeding and reckless driving, and we’ve even had a couple of, unfortunately, very serious crashes occur around town.”
Hebbe said he gave officers the green light to begin “aggressive enforcement of traffic laws.”
Brown said every police department deals with a degree of traffic violations, but when they become more serious – high speeds, street racing, reckless driving and drunken driving – that is when the agency must be more proactive.
“If people are driving slower, your crashes that do occur are less lethal,” Brown said. “So it’s all about decreasing those fatalities as much as we can. ... We just want everyone to be safe. When people are moving too quickly, the accidents truly do become deadly. Our main message is for everyone to slow down.”
shane@durangoherald.com
