Sunday, Apr. 13, 2008
Life-or-death lessons for Mid-Columbia drivers
By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer
PRESCOTT -- Employees gathered at a safety meeting at Flat Top Ranch cautiously eyed an unmarked patrol car parked outside.

When the Spanish-speaking workers spotted a Washington State Patrol trooper inside the shop at the Prescott orchard, they were hesitant to enter.

But as Trooper Oscar Garcia smiled and joked with them in Spanish to help break the ice, the group relaxed.

Garcia was there to talk about traffic safety as part of the state patrol's El Protector program, which aims to reduce traffic-related deaths involving Hispanic drivers.

He targets businesses, orchards and farms in the Mid-Columbia that have a high percentage of Spanish-speaking immigrant employees to help them understand the rules of the road.

"We just want to be able to reach as many people as we can to teach them law enforcement is out there to do a job and that job is to make sure everybody's safe," Garcia said. "They want to succeed. They want to abide by the laws, but they can't if they don't know the laws."

El Protector was started in 2003 after officials saw Hispanic drivers were involved in a majority of all fatality collisions in the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla County.

It was expanded last year to include the Yakima Valley.

Based on the numbers so far, the educational outreach effort is working.

In 2002, Hispanic drivers were involved in 14 of the 20 fatality collisions investigated by the state patrol. And, Hispanic drivers accounted for nine of the 12 fatals that were connected to drunk driving.

Last year, Hispanic drivers were involved in five of the 19 fatality collisions, and just two of the nine DUI fatals involved Hispanic drivers.
"But this year is starting out bad," Garcia noted. "Four of the five fatals this year (in our area) involved Hispanic drivers."

That unfortunate trend is proof that Garcia can't over-sell the traffic safety message.

Garcia, one of only two bilingual troopers in the region, focuses on DUI, seat belt and booster seat laws. He provides posters, pamphlets, T-shirts and other items with safety messages in English and Spanish.

At Flat Top Ranch last week, Garcia also made sure the workers knew the three items they need to have if they're pulled over: Driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance.

"A lot of time they're detained for longer than they need to be because they don't have the things they need," Garcia said. "The information they're receiving are things we already know as citizens. I'm just trying to get them on the same playing field.

"It's beneficial to them and it's beneficial to the community because then everyone knows the rules and consequences."

Hilario Lopez, the orchard foreman at Flat Top Ranch, said he thinks it really helps to have Garcia talk to his crew.

"I like how he says right now I'm a volunteer to do this, but if I see you on the side of the road it'll be different," Lopez, 47, said.

Garcia said it's important to target the Latino community because it's the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States.

"They're on the roadways and they're dying or killing other people," he said. "Wouldn't it be good to provide a service and teach them about the rules of the road?"

In addition to providing traffic safety information, the El Protector program helps the Hispanic community become more comfortable with law enforcement.

"This program's very beneficial to them because they have an opportunity to really ask questions from someone they can communicate with," Garcia said. "It opens doors to have a better rapport with other officers. A lot of times the conflict they run into is because of the language barrier, but I tell them it all comes down to safety."

Last year, 121 traffic safety presentations were made in the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla County and Yakima Valley through the El Protector program.

The program is supported through partnerships with local law enforcement agencies, traffic safety task forces, a citizen advisory board and community groups.

El Protector is only offered in the Mid-Columbia, but the program's success has received statewide attention and officials are working to try to expand it to other areas.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/155101.html