Canby traffic enforcement missions put emphasis on public safety, prevention

By Raymond Rendleman, The Canby Chronicle

Residents recently saw two major enhanced enforcement efforts with additional officers dedicated to traffic safety patrols in Canby.

Canby Police Department officers in May conducted a focused traffic enforcement mission throughout the community with an emphasis on seat belt compliance and distracted driving violations.

Then, during the July 16 Air Fest in Canby, an interagency cooperation effort brought officers from across the county, along with troopers from Oregon State Police, to place emphasis on all five of Canby’s key traffic enforcement categories: DUI, seatbelt, crosswalk, speed, and distraction.

Canby Officer Christopher Davis said usually the city’s police force can only dedicate overtime for five officers to work each mission, which was paid for through a grant from Oregon Impact, a statewide 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aims to reduce the number of crashes caused by distracted driving.

“We try to organize one of these every other month using money from the grant, placing a special emphasis each time,” Davis said.

July’s interagency effort was special, in that it covered both all aspects of traffic safety and in that it’s an event that rotates around to various places in the county and only hits Canby about once a year.

The May 22 distracted driving/seatbelt enforcement mission coincided with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign, which serves as a reminder that wearing your seatbelt and staying focused behind the wheel saves lives. Among the young adults (18-34) killed in 2024 passenger vehicle crashes, 59% were not wearing seatbelts, which is one of the highest percentages for all age groups.

Davis said that far too many serious and fatal crashes involve drivers or passengers who were not wearing seat belts, or drivers whose attention was diverted by phones and other distractions. Distracted driving claimed 3,208 lives in 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month paired a national advertising campaign with a law enforcement crackdown called “Put the Phone Away or Pay.”

“We take pride in the fact that Canby is a very safe community, and it takes that partnership between the community and police to keep it that way,” Davis said.

Davis said that Canby’s police force strives not simply for enforcement, but also prevention. Officers want everyone in our community to arrive safely at their destination, whether they are driving across town or heading home to their families.

“There’s always a balance between enforcement and education, and for us, education takes the forefront in these situations,” Davis said.

During May’s enforcement mission, Canby deployed a total of four officers initiating stops for observed violations, plus a fifth officer wearing plain clothes and operating an unmarked police vehicle observing for violations (called the spotter). Officers issued 13 written warnings during the mission, so some drivers left the scene with only a serious conversation with police.

“If we have the opportunity to intervene, whether it’s a conversation with an officer or a citation, we much prefer that over a tragedy,” Davis said.

During the mission, lasting approximately six hours from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Canby officers made 34 total traffic stops and issued 44 citations, so many of the stops involved multiple alleged infractions. Wilson said that some of the citations will likely be dismissed, if they’re things like a broken lens cover for brake light, an order to remove window tint, or the state’s requirement to regularly renew tags for your license plates, which are items that most frequently qualify for so called fix-it tickets in Canby.

“We do a lot of fix-it tickets, so if it’s something that they can resolve, we will ask the court to dismiss the ticket,” he said.

Notably during the May mission, a male driver was given his third cell phone violation within a 10-year period, which qualifies for a criminal citation. He was given the Class B misdemeanor charge rather than being transported to jail, but the incident still technically qualified as an arrest.

“It’s better than the alternative of someone losing their life,” Davis said.

SIDEBAR

Follow the money

Here were the funds awarded to the Canby Police Department for the following enforcement categories: 

• Distracted Driving Grant - $15,000
• DUII Enforcement Grant - $15,000 
• Seat Belt Enforcement Grant - $5,000
• Speed Enforcement Grant - $5,000
• Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Grant - $3,000

All the grants were awarded through Oregon Impact and ODOT.