July 13, 2022
BREMERTON – The Washington State Patrol (WSP), Bremerton Police Department (BPD), and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) are combining their efforts to reduce serious injury and fatality collisions during a “High Visibility Enforcement” (HiVE) patrol on Thursday, July 14, 2022.
This will be the first of four HiVE patrols occurring over the next four weeks.
Kitsap County area law enforcement conducted similar emphasis patrols in 2020, which were postponed following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) reports Washington state witnessed a 20-year high number of fatality crashes in 2021: 596 collisions resulting 633 tragic deaths. Fifteen of those collisions occurred in Kitsap County claiming 17 lives.
Thursday’s daylong HIVE patrol will focus on the area of Gorst, specifically on State Route 16, State Route 3, Kitsap Way, and State Route 304 with increased enforcement efforts during peak collision times.
The HiVE patrol locations and times are dictated by data collected by each agency. Law enforcement participating utilize an all crimes approach with a focus on collision causing violations including speed, following distance, impaired driving, distracted driving and aggressive driving behaviors.
BPD, KCSO, and the WSP would like to remind the motoring public to always wear their seatbelt. Choosing to buckle up is the first step a motorist and their occupants can proactively take to help avoid serious injury or death in the case of a collision.
Follow the WSP District 8 (@wastatepatrol_d8), BPD (@BremertonPD), Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office (@KitsapCoSheriff) Twitter accounts to learn of the progress of the HiVE efforts.
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