Car accidents policed by the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department last year totaled 3,838, almost 21 percent more than 1999. Some 9,434 traffic tickets were handed out last year, an increase of more than 13 percent from 1999. That compares to a less than 3 percent increase in all criminal complaints from the year before, according to the department's year-end report released last week. Officials blamed the big jump in driving-related incidents on an early spate of winter weather in November and December and more emphasis by patrol officers on traffic enforcement. Car accidents have been climbing steadily - up almost 50 percent since 1995.
Police generally attribute that rise to the region's overall growth.
Casselman said the department started emphasizing traffic enforcement three years ago. The department made some headway. The number of accidents dropped by more than 400 between 1998 and 1999. But Mother Nature played a big role in last year's increase, officials said. More than 25 percent of the total number of traffic accidents last year, some 1,012, happened during in November and December and many were blamed on winter driving conditions.