Traffic Safety Initiatives: Using Operation CARE to Coordinate High-Visibility Education and Enforcement Initiatives

For the second year in a row, roadway fatalities in the United States are projected to increase from the previous year. According to estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an estimated 27,875 lives were lost in the first nine months of 2016 due to motor vehicle crashes; this is an increase of roughly 8 percent from the roadway fatalities that occurred in the first nine months of 2015. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has the unique position of being the largest organization to represent law enforcement internationally. As a longtime leader in traffic safety education and enforcement, the IACP seeks to address rising roadway fatalities by creating a new extension of its Division of State and Provincial Police (S&P): Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort (Operation CARE).