350 more troopers needed to crack down on speeders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol would require an additional 350 road troopers to adequately enforce speed limits on state highways, a high-ranking patrol official told legislators Monday.

Maj. Ed Bliefnick, who heads the patrol's field operations bureau, cited the figure in response to a lawmaker's question regarding manpower needs to more strictly enforce posted speed limits.

Bliefnick said the figure comes from the patrol's most recent resource allocation assessment.

"The number of road officers it would take to do the job adequately is kind of a staggering figure," Bliefnick said.

Speed factor

Speeding is among the most significant contributing factors in traffic crashes, he said.

He made his comments during a hearing of the House committee that has oversight on transportation spending. Monday's meeting focused on transportation safety issues.

Lt. Tim Hull, a patrol spokesman, said in an interview that of all reported traffic crashes in Missouri last year, 16.2 percent were related to speed, and excessive speed was a factor in 36 percent of traffic fatalities.

During his committee testimony, Bliefnick didn't have figures on the cost of hiring 350 additional troopers. However, salaries alone for that many first-year troopers, who earn $31,932 a year, would cost the state nearly $11.2 million.

Employee benefits and training and equipment costs would greatly increase the patrol's expenditures.

There are 680 troopers assigned to road duty. Adding the troopers Bliefnick said would be needed to adequately combat speeding would mark a 51.5 percent increase in the number of road troopers.

With officials contemplating spending cuts to balance the state budget, a massive increase in the patrol's strength is unlikely soon.

'Bubble of safety'

However, Bliefnick said, a greater law enforcement presence directly translates into safer roads.

"I'm a big believer in a highly visible highway patrol and highly visible law enforcement, period," Bliefnick said. "I believe a patrol car carries a bubble of safety around it."

The mere sight of a patrol car causes motorists to check their speeds and pay closer attention to their driving, he said.

Encouraging the public to obey speed limits, not to drive while intoxicated, avoid distractions like cell phone use when behind the wheel and other controllable factors that contribute to traffic crashes is the goal of the patrol's new "Stop the Knock" public education campaign.

"The worst job a highway patrol officer has is not working an accident, working homicides or the other things people think we do," Bliefnick said. "It is walking up to a house, knocking on the front door and telling someone a member of their family has been killed in an accident."

Bliefnick said a person is killed or injured on Missouri roads every 31 minutes, a figure that could be improved with positive changes in driver behavior.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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