The Cheektowaga Police Accident Investigation Unit, or Traffic Unit, consists of 11 officers and a lieutenant; covering all three shifts. It is part of the Patrol Division of the Police Department, and its officers can and do respond to patrol calls for service, as well as dealing with situations that call for their specialized training. These officers handle injury accidents; and they have extensive additional training to deal with fatal and serious injury accidents. The officers use the latest technology, the Total Station, to reconstruct and investigate serious accidents. The Total Station, used for accident diagramming, allows officers to precisely plot each element in a crash so their investigation is accurate and exact.

The Traffic officers also enforce commercial vehicle regulations, ensuring the large trucks that share our roadways are safe. Officers regularly set up checkpoints for commercial vehicles, cooperating with other jurisdictions, to inspect trucks and cite any safety violations.

All vehicles assigned to the Traffic Unit are equipped with radar; making speed and traffic law enforcement a priority. The officers are certified to use radar and also to visually estimate vehicle speed. They spend a good deal of their time ensuring that motorists are operating their vehicles safely and within the laws of New York State. Special government grants allow officers to spend additional time enforcing specific safety issues such as seat belt use. Officers also provide special DWI patrols and often participate in multi-jurisdictional sobriety checkpoints.

The Accident Investigation Unit also handles community concerns about traffic issues. These can include issues ranging from frequent stop sign violations at a certain intersection to lack of proper traffic control signs in an area. The unit assists the Town’s traffic Safety Committee and Environmental Quality Review Board, as well.