The Sanford Police Department was established
by a Maine State Legislative Act in 1935, Acts and Resolves Chapter
53, page 503.
There is hereby established in the Police Department
of this municipality a Patrol/Traffic Unit to be under the control
of an officer of police appointed by and directly responsible to the
Chief of Police.
The Patrol/Traffic Unit, with such assistance
as may be rendered by the other divisions or units within the Police
Department shall:
A.
Enforce the traffic provisions of this chapter and
the state vehicle laws.
B.
Make arrests for traffic violations.
C.
Investigate accidents.
D.
Cooperate with the Traffic Engineer and other municipal
officials in the administration of traffic laws and in developing
methods to improve traffic conditions.
E.
Carry out those duties imposed upon it by this chapter.
A.
The Police Department or the Patrol/Traffic Unit thereof
shall keep a record of all violations of the traffic ordinances of
this municipality or of the state vehicle laws of which any person
has been convicted, together with a record, shall be so maintained
as to show all types of violations and the total of each.[1] Said record shall accumulate during at least a three-year
period, and from that time on the record shall be maintained complete
for at least the most recent three-year period.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original.
B.
All such records and reports shall be public records.
It shall be the duty of the Patrol/Traffic Unit,
assisted by other police officers in the Department, to investigate
traffic accidents and to arrest and to assist in the prosecution of
those persons charged with violations of law causing or contributing
to such accidents.
Whenever the accidents at any particular location
become numerous, the Patrol/Traffic Unit shall cooperate with the
Traffic Engineer in conducting studies of such accidents and determining
remedial measures. (The Maine State Highway Commission provides technical
assistance on request.)
The Patrol/Traffic Unit shall maintain a suitable
system of filing traffic accident reports. Accident reports or cards
referring to them shall be filed alphabetically by location. Such
reports shall be available for the use and information of the Traffic
Engineer.
A.
The Police Department or the Patrol/Traffic Unit thereof
shall maintain a suitable record of all traffic accidents, warnings,
arrests, convictions, and complaints reported for each driver, which
shall be filed alphabetically under the name of the driver concerned.
B.
Said Unit shall study the cases of all such drivers
charged with frequent or serious violations of the traffic laws or
involved in frequent traffic accidents or any serious accident and
report such information to the Department of Motor Vehicles or other
appropriate state agencies.
C.
Such records shall accumulate during at least a three-year
period, and from that time on such records shall be maintained complete
for at least the most recent three-year period.
The Patrol/Traffic Unit shall annually prepare
a traffic report which shall be incorporated into the annual police
report. Such report shall contain information on traffic matters in
the municipality as follows:
A.
The number of traffic accidents, the number of persons
killed, the number of persons injured, and other pertinent traffic
accident data.
B.
The number of traffic accidents investigated and other
pertinent data on the safety activities of the police.
C.
The plans and recommendations of the Unit for future
traffic safety activities.
The Traffic Unit shall recommend a type of pennant
or other identifying insignia to be displayed upon, or other method
to be employed to identify, the vehicles in funeral processions.
The office of Traffic Engineer is hereby established.
The Municipal Engineer shall serve as Traffic Engineer, in addition
to his other functions, and shall exercise the powers and duties with
respect to traffic as provided in this chapter.
A.
The Chief of Police, by and with the approval of the
Traffic Engineer and the State Highway Commission, is hereby empowered
to make regulations necessary to make effective the provisions of
the traffic ordinances of this Town and to make and enforce temporary
or experimental regulations to cover emergencies or special conditions.
No such temporary or experimental regulation shall remain in effect
for more than 90 days.
B.
The Traffic Engineer may test traffic control devices
under actual conditions of traffic.
