EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – Evansville Police say they have increased traffic patrols after receiving the results of a community survey.

As we reported, EPD conducted a community survey over the summer in which people said their biggest need from police was more traffic enforcement.

Just a day after the results of the survey were announced, police took action.

EPD said they stopped 41 cars in two hours, resulting in 40 tickets and six written warnings.

The speed limit on Lloyd is 50 mph. Police said the average speed of the cars they pulled over was 72 mph.

“We don’t want to issue tickets, we want people to slow down, that’s all,” EPD Officer Taylor Merriss said.

Merriss says they increased traffic patrols after some fatal crashes on Lloyd earlier this year, but they now avoid that.

After traffic enforcement was named the top concern in the community survey, Merriss said they will be keeping a closer eye on the speeding issue.

“It’s a deterrent,” Merriss said. “When you see a police officer or someone at the top of an overpass holding a speed gun, a Lidar gun, that’s going to slow you down pretty quickly.”

Whether you slow down or let the police do it for you, it doesn’t matter to Merriss. He says the department’s goal is to keep people safe.

“We’re really trying to meet the needs and values ​​that people want to see from law enforcement,” Merriss said.

He says there is often a misconception that police officers are trying to meet their speeding ticket quota.

Merriss says there are no quotas, it’s just about getting people to slow down.

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