Careless driving ordinance has resulted in 6 citations

The careless driving ordinance, which has been in effect for over a month, has been used by McMinnville police officers six times. Thus far, all the citations have been given after traffic accidents.

According to McMinnville Police Chief Charlie Sewell, he has been watching when and how the tickets are being issued and he can see no instances where there has been abuse.

?We did exactly what the aldermen asked us to do,? said Sewell. ?We are monitoring it and we are making sure it?s not being abused. I read every citation that is given. There has been no abuse of the ordinance.?

Stances where tickets have been given:

? During the New Year?s weekend, one ticket was given when a driver looked away and triggered a rear-end collision. When the driver looked back, the car in front had slowed. The driver then accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

? Another incident also involved a rear-end collision. While two vehicles were waiting in line, the first vehicle moved forward and then stopped. The second vehicle?s driver wasn?t paying attention and did not notice the vehicle had stopped. Subsequently, the vehicles collided.

Because accusations arose that the ordinance is a way to increase revenue for the city, another area of concern is the number of citations given. Since only six have been written, there doesn?t seem to be overuse, Sewell says.

Reports regarding how many citations are issued and for what violations are presented to the city monthly. These reports are open to the public.