AUBURN - In the wake of a series of automobile accidents this month, the Auburn Police Department is using two grants to make the roads safer.

Police chief Gary Giannotta wants drivers to slow down and turn off their cell phones.

The city received $12,200 to target aggressive driving through the state “Step Enforcement to Reduce Unsafe Driving” grant. The department spent a portion of the annual grant to buy two laser guns, bringing the city's total to three. The radar guns arrived in January.

APD officers wrote 110 tickets over a five-day period while patrolling Grant Avenue with the laser guns.

The remaining amount, $11,000, is earmarked for the overtime costs of officers patrolling traffic.

“We've got so little time to do preventative enforcement,” Giannotta said.

This grant allows officers to perform their usual duties while paying for the officers' time outside the regular work week.

The money is spread out through the year so the officers can go out about four times for increased traffic enforcement.

The majority of infractions officers see are drivers not wearing seat belts, talking on cell phones, and speeding, Giannotta said.

“It's just absolutely amazing,” Giannotta said of some acrobatics he's seen drivers use. In a recent incident, he pulled over a woman talking on a mobile phone, eating a doughnut with the other hand, and driving her car with her knee.

Tickets for talking on cell phones without hands-free devices can cost drivers $135 and speeding can cost $150.

The department has received the grant money for more than six years.

The best advice is to “drive slower and put down the phone,” Giannotta said. “If they did that, we wouldn't be investigating as many accidents as we are.”

Another annual grant to promote safety is bringing $3,200 to purchase child safety seats.

The APD has two police officers who are trained to install car seats in vehicles. From 9 a.m. to noon every other Friday, the officers check parents' current seats to make sure they comply with state size and age standards, provide ones that do, and install them properly.

The seats and service are free, but the department will accept donations to replenish the fund, Giannotta said. City officials set aside $2,500 in the budget for the program, and the grant is a complementary amount.

The department gives out about 100 seats each year. The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and Cayuga County Action Program also provide child seats.

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or

jessica.soule@lee.net