The northern law-enforcement S.H.A.R.P. (Safe Highway Accident Reduction Program) group

We would like to announce that we are continuing our Route 105 pilot enforcement program and expanding it to include the Chimney Corners area this year.

When we looked at a “heat” map of Vermont’s serious injury and fatal crashes for the last several years, we found that one road stood out: Route 105. This road over a five-year period experienced 22 fatal crashes, with one of the most recent crashes taking the life of a young girl.

The SHARP program started a pilot project on Route 105 from St. Albans to Richford. There were nine (9) enforcement details that varied from morning, afternoon, and nighttime details. These details resulted in 69 traffic tickets, and two (2) arrests. It should be noted that there were no fatalities that summer, compared to prior years where there were two (2) fatalities during the summer months. As part of the project we also deployed additional signage along Route 105 to educate the public.  This was a group effort with several law enforcement agencies from the northern “SHARP” group, as well as the Vermont State Police and Dept of Motor Vehicles.

This year it has been decided to include the Chimney Corners area (US Routes 2 and 7) of Milton and Colchester for increased enforcement and education, as well as the stretch of US Route 2 connecting Interstate 89 to the Lake Champlain islands.  This area was selected due to several fatal crashes having occurred there.  This summer’s efforts will focus on both the Route 105 corridor and the Chimney Corners area.