Officers from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Operations Unit, along with officers from St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties, recently conducted a series of joint enforcement efforts as part of the “Buckle Up, Phone Down” program. Funded by the Maryland Highway Safety Office, “Buckle Up, Phone Down” is a seatbelt and distracted driving initiative which encourages motorists to always wear seatbelts and not utilize their phones while driving.
During this proactive initiative, officers conducted border-to-border operations to observe violations at the county lines. During this effort, officers issued 571 citations and 99 warnings. Of the citations, 268 were for distracted driving, 189 were for drivers not wearing their seatbelts, 15 were for passengers not wearing seatbelts, five were for passengers under 16 not wearing seatbelts, and 94 were for other miscellaneous violations.
“It is crucial that we remind motorists to wear their seatbelts and keep their eyes on the road,” said Captain Bobby Kiesel, Commander of the Special Operations Division. “Accidents due to distracted driving are preventable, and seatbelts save lives. It’s not about writing tickets; it’s about keeping our roadways safe.”
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is a full-service law enforcement agency comprised of more than 600 police, corrections and civilian personnel responsible for protecting more than 150,000 residents. The CCSO was accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 2001 has been designated as a CALEA Gold Standard of Excellence agency since 2011. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.ccso.us.
Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous.
Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted online at www.charlescountycrimesolvers.com or by using the P3Intel mobile app, which can be found in the Android Store and Apple store by searching P3tips. For more information about the P3 program, click on this link: www.p3intel.com.
