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Sheriff highlights 'Click It or Ticket' campaign and warns drivers after county bicycle crash
Summary
Sheriff Mark Dannels reviewed seat-belt enforcement results, thanked state highway-safety funding, and recounted a deputy’s bicycle crash that underscores local concerns about driver vigilance.
Sheriff Mark Dannels said Cochise County’s participation in the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign has helped raise seat-belt use from roughly 40% about a decade earlier to an estimated “up to 80%.” He thanked the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety for funding that supports enforcement and outreach.
Dannels used a recent traffic stop example for his “stop of the week,” describing a motorist illegally crossing a solid white line to cut into a left-turn lane. He said officers spoke to the driver about safety and the legal restriction: “You can't cross a solid white line.”
The sheriff also described a crash in which a county employee who was riding a bicycle lawfully was struck and thrown from the bike. Dannels said the cyclist had the same rights and responsibilities as a car and that the driver who struck him told officers, “I didn't see him.” He emphasized the shared responsibility of motorists and cyclists and said, “Once you hit somebody on a bike … there's no winners here.”
No citations, crash report numbers or medical-condition updates for the bicyclist were provided on-air. The sheriff advised motorists to be vigilant for cyclists, joggers and hikers and to follow traffic markings and lane restrictions to reduce collisions.
