Drivers in Fort Worth are encouraged to slow their horses if they want to avoid getting slapped with a traffic ticket.
Officers with the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) will step up enforcement procedures during traffic violations to discourage reckless drivers from the road.
In the past six months, FWPD issued more than 12,000 traffic citations and responded to 61 fatal crashes, WFAA reported. Traffic violations included tickets for speeding, reckless driving, and about 1,700 school zone infractions.
In response to a recent surge of complaints involving reckless drivers, FWPD planned to increase traffic enforcement throughout Fort Worth. For Officer Bradley Perez, it’s all about keeping Fort Worth citizens safe and deadly and reckless drivers off the road.
The City of Fort Worth is growing at a record pace, Perez told WFAA. But with that robust population growth comes the addition of many more drivers on the roads. To remedy this, Perez said the city would install more traffic cameras, introduce more patrol in problematic areas, and ramp up enforcement against individuals caught driving recklessly.
“We don’t want to write you a citation,” Perez explained. “This is frustrating when you look at the number of these that could have been avoided. Unfortunately, we just had one over the weekend where a fatality was involved.”
For Fort Worth resident Linnette Rogers, the harm and danger caused by reckless drivers are all too real. Rogers, who lost her 74-year-old mother in a fatal hit-and-run car crash in Fort Worth last year, said she is still emotionally healing from the tragic loss. Her father, who was also in the vehicle, survived but was left with lasting pain and grief.
“We are still suffering the loss of my mom,” Rogers told WFAA. She also said her dad is still “suffering mentally, physically, and emotionally” from the accident — and, of course, the loss of his wife, which Rogers emphasized could have been avoided.
Rogers said no arrest had been made in the case despite a reward for information being offered.
The accident occurred on westbound Interstate 20 near the Hemphill Street exit at around 8 p.m. in March 2022. Anyone with information involving the crash can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 817-469-8477.
“You don’t want to cause anyone to lose a loved one because of your bad driving, your reckless driving,” Rogers said.
