Story Category: Live Updates »

The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office would like to remind the community that Sunday August 5, 2012 kicked of the 3rd Wave of the Smooth Operator Enforcement Campaign which will run through August 18, 2012.

The 2012 Campaign theme is "Police are Stopping Speeders"Deputies from The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office along with Law Enforcement Officers across the State of Maryland have already issued 185,177 citations and written warnings during the first two waves of the 2012 campaign. The goal of the Smooth Operator Campaign is to reduce the speed which people are traveling with the hope it will reduce crashes, reduce injuries from motor vehicle crashes and ultimately reduce the number of fatal crashes occurring in the State of Maryland.

The efforts of Officers across Maryland and the Smooth Operator Enforcement Campaigns have contributed greatly to the downward trend in fatal motor vehicle crashes since 2006. This downward trend across the State works toward the overall objective of Maryland's Strategic Highway Safety Plan which is to reduce fatalities and injuries and work "Toward Zero Deaths".

Smooth Operator adheres to a multi-pronged 4 E’s approach:

1. Enforcement – Stepped-up patrols and police activity.
2. Education – Public education, relations and awareness campaigns.
3. Evaluation – Constant research and evaluation of campaign activities.
4. Engineering – Physical transportation and roadway solutions.

Members of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office will again be stepping up enforcement efforts during this wave of the Smooth Operator Campaign looking for speeders, aggressive drivers, reckless drivers and negligent drivers.   Deputies will take strict enforcement actions.

Motor vehicle operators who drive safely, buckle up and are responsible will help the Sheriff's Office make St. Mary's County a safer place to live and drive!

For more information on Maryland’s Smooth Operator Program visit www.roads.maryland.gov/Index.aspx?PageId=243