Traffic Section

An important part of the Tucson Police Department’s service to the community involves a continuous effort to improve traffic safety and facilitate the safe movement of vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians throughout the City. These are the primary goals of the Traffic Section. In addition to the highly visible motorcycle officers deployed throughout the city, specially-trained traffic detectives respond to serious collisions, and commercial vehicle enforcement officers help ensure the safety of our community by monitoring the large trucks that also use our roadways. A special squad of impaired driving investigation experts is assigned to the Traffic Section and provides enforcement in the field as well as education on subjects that include impaired driving, drug use, and underage drinking.

Prevention activities are an important role of the Traffic Section. Traffic officers perform car seat inspections and provide information at safety fairs, appear at literally hundreds of speaking and demonstration engagements throughout the year and provide specialized driving experiences to young drivers through several programs. Speed trailers are also strategically placed throughout the city to help drivers monitor their speed in especially dangerous areas.

The Traffic Section is headquartered at the Pantano substation located at 7575 E. Speedway Boulevard, Suite #100. The station is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. excluding holidays. During these hours the traffic office is able to assist with questions regarding traffic issues and mandatory vehicle impounds.

DUI Squad, 520-791-5180
The function of the DUI squad is to provide enforcement and education throughout the community in an effort to reduce impaired driving and its related tragedies. The sergeant and eight officers assigned to the DUI squad accomplish this task through a combination of citywide enforcement and education to every segment of the community. Each member of the squad receives extensive training in areas that include alcohol and drugged driving investigation, breath testing device operation, phlebotomy, and speed detection equipment operation. Most officers in the squad hold numerous instructor certifications. This level of training is necessary as these experts in impaired driving investigation commonly train other law enforcement officers, testify in court, and perform numerous community lectures and events.

Although every officer in the field has received training in impaired driving investigation, the complexity of these investigations sometimes requires the services of an officer who specializes in alcohol or drug impaired driving. DUI squad officers assist in these investigations and provide the level of expertise that may be needed to ensure impaired drivers are detected and appropriately investigated. To help with this task, DUI squad officers are assigned special vehicles that carry breath-testing instruments called intoxilyzers, supplies to draw blood, and impaired driving specific search warrant materials. This is important because many times the only physical evidence in an impaired driving case is the analysis of the breath or blood from the driver. By ensuring that chemical testing is done as quickly as possible, the most accurate information about a driver’s alcohol content can be presented. In cases of refusal to submit to chemical tests, evidence may be obtained though a search warrant issued by a judge for a driver’s blood.

DUI squad officers also provide information throughout the community. Education programs developed by the Tucson Police Department target underage drivers, school officials, parents, and law enforcement. Officers assigned to the DUI squad spend countless hours preparing for demonstrations and providing prevention information.

Motorcycle Squads (Motors), 520-791-4440
Some of the most visible officers in the Tucson Police Department are the 34 officers and five sergeants that are deployed on police motorcycles on both day and night shifts. In order to qualify to ride a police motorcycle, officers must first compete to be placed on an eligibility list. Officers are selected from this list to attend an intense four-week motorcycle training program. Riding a police motorcycle requires an enormous amount of skill development and practice. The motor officers in the Tucson Police Department are some of the most skilled in the country and have won numerous awards in riding competitions with officers from several states.

The primary job of the motor officers is traffic enforcement. Officers respond to traffic complaints and work enforcement in areas plagued with collisions all over the city. To aid in their traffic enforcement efforts, every police motorcycle is equipped with one of the latest models of laser speed measuring guns available. Motor officers are also utilizing an electronic citation system, the first of its kind in this area. Officers are able to “swipe” a driver’s license into a handheld devise and complete a citation in just minutes. A portable printer on the motorcycle prints a copy of the citation for the driver.

Some of the most common causes of crashes in the Tucson area are speeding, failing to yield or failing to stop at red lights, and following too closely. Those who do not wear seatbelts and children not secured in car seats are especially vulnerable to injury in a crash. Motor officers will commonly look for these violations as well as others during their routine patrols and special enforcement details.

A secondary, but highly visible function of motors is during special events such as parades, races, or other events that require traffic safety. Special events that have an impact on traffic are planned and managed by the Traffic Section.

Vehicular Offenses Detail, 520-791-4389
Unfortunately, crashes involving vehicles resulting in very serious injury or death are a part of our society. The investigation of these crashes is the responsibility of the sergeant and five specially-trained detectives of the Vehicular Offenses Detail. When a serious collision occurs, members of the detail respond to the scene in an attempt to determine what factors were responsible for the crash. Witnesses are interviewed, physical evidence from the roadway is obtained, evidence from the drivers may be obtained, and the entire scene is measured and diagramed using a state-of-the-art GPS system. The detectives in this detail receive extensive training in collision reconstruction and crash analysis to perform their job. Traffic detectives work closely with DUI squad officers in collisions where alcohol or drugs is a factor. These homicides require careful investigation at the scene of the crash and of the impaired driver.

Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, 520-791-4440
Each day, large trucks carrying cargo of all types pass through Tucson. Some of these vehicles stay on the Interstate, but many others drive on surface streets to their destinations. Both I-10 and I-19 are major commerce corridors used by thousands of commercial vehicles each day, including those originating in Mexico. The size of these vehicles, as well as the varying types of cargo they carry, make the regulation of commercial vehicles an important component of traffic safety in Tucson.

The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Detail is comprised of four officers. These officers receive special training in the federal laws that regulate commercial vehicles. These officers also carry specialized equipment that allows them to inspect vehicles for safety violations as well as weight and proper operation. Vehicles that are found to be improperly operated or with certain safety violations are parked until the situation can be rectified.