This report has been produced by the Institute for Police Research, the educational division of the International Union of Police Associations. The I.U.P.A. represents an estimated 100,000 law enforcement officers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada. Members come from all aspects of law enforcement, municipal police, deputy sheriffs, county police, state police, federal officers, institutional officers (university and hospital police), corrections officers, and law enforcement support personnel. The information is a composite of ideas and analysis obtained from numerous conversations with officers with a broad variety of direct field experience. The role of law enforcement in intersection safety must be considered in two parts. The first, relates to ensuring that the public obeys laws. The second, relates to the effect intersections have on emergency response to calls for service and other emergencies. In all cases, it should be kept in mind that the vast majority of law enforcement agencies throughout the country suffer from chronic personnel shortages. It should be clearly noted that this is not intended to be a technical treatise on the design and engineering of intersections. Engineers and designers look at roads and their intersections on computer screens and blue prints. The men and women in law enforcement look at them through their windshields. We therefore bring you the view from the cruiser in the hope that as you seek solutions to intersection safety problems, you give credence to the practical experience of those closest to the problem.
Abstract