The annual competition, co-sponsored by the state Department of Transportation and the Connecticut Chiefs of Police Association, recognizes and rewards the best overall traffic safety programs.

"I'm very proud," said Sgt. Joshua Zabin. "I'm very proud of the fact our department is out there conducting traffic enforcement and over the last three years, we've shown a decline in accidents, have increased the number of DUI checkpoints and have a better relationship with the community, partly because of our educational programs in the high schools and colleges." Although Fairfield didn't earn the top spot against fellow departments exceeding 100-plus members, it still has the opportunity going into today's awards luncheon of winning a Harley Davidson police motorcycle. Chiefs from the different departments that entered the competition will be given keys to the motorcycle but only one will start the engine.

Police Chief David Peck, a motorcycle enthusiast, said the department's winning the motorcycle "would be a little bonus" on top of being recognized for its law enforcement efforts. He added that the motorcycle would allow the department to expand enforcement by using an additional motorcycle officer. The number of trained motorcycle officers exceeds the number of police motorcycles four -- the department has.

"There are several certified motorcycle officers we could assign," said Peck, if the department won the bike.

The Connecticut Law Enforcement Challenge, according to CLEC literature, is an innovative program that provides an avenue to stimulate traffic law enforcement in any police or sheriff agency. The program targets three major traffic safety priorities: occupant protection, impaired driving and speeding.

Zabin said nearly 30 law enforcement agencies competed in the CLEC and noted that program judges look at "the quality of what you're doing, are you going out in the community and making a difference, and creativity, as far as enforcement."

Zabin added that the judges also take into account the presentation of traffic safety books the departments submit. Part of the application process asks for information regarding enforcement activity during any three months of 2006. In this section, Fairfield officials said there were 275 citations for safety belt violation, 19 for child passenger safety violations and 420 for speeding and 51 arrests for impaired driving. There were also four driving under the influence special enforcement efforts throughout 2006, two of which were checkpoints, according to the application.

The traffic safety book the Fairfield Police Department submitted for the competition also lists a number of efforts to combat excessive speed, including laser and radar enforcement and "Operation Safe Driver" and "Living Streets Initiative." Operation Safe Driver involves utilization of the Mobile Command Unit in areas of town where there is a heavy flow of traffic, according to Capt. Robert Comers. An officer in an unmarked car up the road will notify officers around the command center of drivers committing various violations, whether it's speeding, driving without a seat belt, talking on a cell phone while driving or even not having a front marker plate. When the violator reaches the area of the command center, they get flagged down to pull over.

Comers said the stops "bring an awareness to the public that the police are out there enforcing motor vehicle laws."

"You'll drive more carefully than if you never saw a police officer," said Comers. "When we're out there it's quite a presence and that's what we want. We want people to know we are out there enforcing the law."

The Living Streets Initiative educates the public that pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic must share roadways where people live. If a certain neighborhood is found to be having serious problems with traffic, "we will set up in the roadway and hand out fliers to passing motorists reminding them of the posted speed limits and warning them to slow down.

"Our ultimate goal, with all of these different programs, is to change the behavior of the motorist," said Zabin. Initiatives like Living Streets have made a difference. During October 2006, after neighbor complaints of commercial truck traffic violations, officers conducted a successful campaign on Route 136. The officers handed out fliers to passing truck drivers reminding them it was a "no thru truck" road. During the weeks following the campaign, officers followed up with enforcement and found truck traffic had been reduced significantly.

The Fairfield department, like those in many towns, also used the portable speed readers, which flash amber colored letters that display an oncoming motorist's travels speed. The numbers flash red when the oncoming motorist exceeds the posted speed limit. DUI saturation patrols are also highlighted in the book submitted for the CLEC. DUI saturation patrols are employed 52 weeks a year, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening in an effort to reduce the number of impaired driving injuries and fatalities. The goal is accomplished through both high visibility patrolling and focused enforcement in certain areas of town. In 2006, 468 individual DUI patrols were deployed under DOT funding.

Checkpoints, said Zabin, have resulted in not only drunken-driving arrests but also arrests for drug possession.

Operation Safe Driver has not only been responsible for citations for various motor vehicle violations but also illegal immigrant deportation arrests.

Zabin, who attended a week-long conference in Naples, Fla., in June related to alcohol and drug-impaired driving, came away with better ideas on how to increase DUI checkpoint safety, better ways to monitor local liquor establishments, as well as how to create a database for "place of last drink," which Zabin said may help the police plot where "some of the bars are over-serving."

Today's awards ceremony and luncheon, which is called the Law Enforcement Summit, will take place at Water's Edge Resort and Spa, according to Comers.

"It's always rewarding to have your work recognized," he said.

Zabin said traffic enforcement training in 2007 has already exceeded what took place in 2006 and "we hope to do more in the future," he said.

He added, "We want people to realize we're serious. I want to create a buzz around Fairfield County that the Fairfield police take traffic enforcement very seriously, and if you break the law, you're going to get caught."

Zabin said the highest number of citizen complaints have to do with speeding and reckless driving. He added that accidents -- whether single car, car on car, or car hitting a pedestrian -- can result in long-term repercussions. "Injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident can stay with people for many years," said Zabin.

The organizers of the annual CLEC believe the competition, among other things, is a friendly way for departments to increase their attention to traffic safety, as well as creates incentive for continuing traffic safety activities.

Peck said the third place finish in the statewide competition speaks volumes about the Police Department.

"Very often, the Police Department is criticized for not doing enough traffic enforcement," said Peck. "I think this proves we are trying very hard to do the best that we can, and in addition to the initiatives that we already have in place, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to deal with traffic issues and traffic enforcement."