OSP cracking down on intersection of Hwy. 140 and Kershaw Road

White City, Ore.– The intersection of Highway 140 and Kershaw Road has seen an increase in crashes in the last eight months. Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation have been working diligently to change that.

In recent months, OSP has worked with ODOT to make changes at this intersection, including reducing the speed limit and putting up new, flashier signs. According to OSP Sergeant Jeff Proulx, these measures have helped, but there are still too many drivers not paying attention while traveling through the intersection.

“Most of the crashes that we do have is people don’t see the other person for whatever reason. Because of speed or because people are rolling through the stop sign because they’re in a hurry and not paying attention,” Sgt. Proulx said.

ODOT gave OSP grant money to crack down on distracted drivers, in honor of April being “Distracted Driving Awareness Month.” Sgt. Proulx said they used part of that grant money to conduct saturation patrols on Thursday.

Sgt. Proulx said they had five patrol cars out at the intersection Thursday morning. Within a two to three hour window, Sgt. Proulx said they pulled over more than 20 drivers for various violations.

Sgt. Proulx said the majority of drivers were issued warnings, but they did give out citations. They also caught someone with drugs and at least one criminal driving suspension.

A second saturation was done Thursday afternoon. The numbers for that patrol have not been released.

Sgt. Proulx said there will be an increase of patrol cars at this intersection in coming months. He said he hopes it will encourage more people to pay attention and follow the traffic rules, in order to make the intersection safer.