Registration Violations Up, Cell Phone Citations Down in 2010

License, registration, and insurance citations were up in 2010 while cell phone and seatbelt tickets were down, according to statistics released last week by the .

The department's rundown of 13 frequently issued traffic citations also shows fewer citations for passing a stopped school bus (down 63%) or disobeying a traffic control sign (down 50%) but a year-over-year rise in tickets for running a stop sign (up 32%).

According to officer T. Court Isaac of the Traffic Division, some of the biggest increases — including suspended license/registration (up 43%) and operating an unregistered vehicle (up 30%) — are attributable to the department's to several of its cars.

The devices automatically check vehicle tags against the National Crime Information Center database, allowing police to catch violators more efficiently.

DWI arrests also climbed 26%, jumping from 68 in 2009 to 86 in 2010. Darien Police  in June of last year, an enforcement strategy which Isaac said contributed to the higher tally. 

Traffic light and speeding violations were almost even from year to year, climbing just 2%.

Despite the a relative decline from 2009, citations for using a cell phone while driving (734) and failing to wear a seatbelt (717) topped the list in 2010. Those categories were followed closely by operating an unregistered vehicle (628) and speeding (531).