TopFeatured.com

ANKENY Iowa — There were quite a few law enforcement vehicles with flashing lights on I-35 in Ankeny on Friday.

The occasion was the Ankeny Police Department’s special traffic enforcement project. The Iowa State Patrol, the Iowa DOT, Central Iowa Traffic Safety Task Force and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, all joined forces to stop motorists who may be violating traffic laws.

“What we’re doing today is a traffic awareness project and that project is geared towards speeding enforcement, seatbelt enforcement, and distracted driving,” said Officer Tony Higgins, of the Ankeny Police.

Higgins and other officers waited on a northbound I-35 ramp to find those who may be breaking the law. A State Patrol officer in an aircraft overhead would call out a vehicle for how fast they might have been going, or other infraction he might see from the air.

“We work with the Governors Traffic Safety Bureau and we have officers, all the (Ankeny) officers working on their days off and they are committed to doing traffic enforcement,” said Officer Higgins.

Officer Higgins stopped a vehicle going 84 miles per hour. The driver was cited not only for speeding, but also for driving with a suspended license. The driver was given a ride to a nearby gas station, but his car was impounded, and he had an order to appear in court. 

“So in my years of being in law-enforcement I’ve seen several different traffic collisions, some as severe as fatalities and some minor,” said Higgins. “A lot of those traffic incidents could’ve been prevented.”