"BUT OFFICER, I..."; THE TRAFFIC DIVISION OF THE CAPE GIRARDEAU POLICE DEPARTMENT HEARS ALL TYPES OF EXCUSE FOR VIOLATIONS.

Most of the 2,084 vehicle accidents in Cape Girardeau last year happened for no good reason, police officers say.

The occurred, the city's traffic division officers said, mostly because motorists don't pay attention.

Like last summer, when Patrolman Ken Rinehart, working an accident on North Kingshighway, noticed a driver who pulled into the wrong lane and kept going.

Rinehart could see the driver, oblivious to his error, speaking into a cellular telephone.

Stepping into the middle of the road, Rinehart began waving his hands to get the driver's attention.

"He was still talking on the phone when I pulled him over," Rinehart said. "I had to tap on the window and tell him to get off the phone before he realized what he did wrong."

Nothing about the driving public really surprises 32-year department veteran Sgt. Al Moore, the city's chief traffic officer.

Many times, Moore said, drivers blame the officer for the traffic stop.

"It's mostly 'You're picking on me,'" he said. "And, 'Why aren't you out catching the real criminals?'"

"We tell them we enforce all the laws," he said.

In many ways, traffic accidents are more serious than other types of unlawful activity, because they generally involve more than the people causing the accident.

That's a fact apparent from the department's statistics. More than 4,000 vehicles were involved in the 2,084 accidents, involving 3,772 people. Eleven pedestrians were hit by vehicles in 1994.

The local economy suffers from traffic accidents, also. A staggering $17.3 million was lost to insurance and repair costs in 1994. That's more than $500 for every person in Cape Girardeau.

Proof of insurance was shown in 75 percent of vehicle accidents in the city.

The four traffic officers hear a variety of excuses for traffic violations.

"I've heard 'I'm going to the hospital' quite a bit," Moore said. "People say they are late for a meeting. One man told me he was late to church."

Along with cellular telephones, pets also cause inattention and hamper driver vision, Moore said, although rarely does the driver in an accident blame the animal for causing it.

"You can't prove it, anyway," Moore said.

Most city traffic summonses are for speeding. The 11 miles of I-55 in the city limits are patrolled as often as the force can, as does the Missouri Highway Patrol.

The department doesn't have the manpower to park and wait to spot infractions, Moore said. Other police officers share in stopping violators, often learning the driver is wanted for another violation.

"Most of the felony arrests are from traffic arrests," he said.

Drivers running red lights are becoming more frequent in the city.

The problem is getting worse, "mainly because of impatience," Moore said, adding: "We realize it is spreading, but we can't just sit and wait for someone to run a red light."

More charges of drunk driving are getting filed, but fewer are contested, he said, thanks to technology such as portable alcohol detectors. The devices, about the size of a cigarette pack, have a straw the driver blows through. The alcohol level is instantly registered, determining whether the driver will be brought to the station for another, more precise, measurement.

All traffic stops are videotaped by a small camera mounted on the dashboard. Audio is also recorded, providing a true account of what happens during a traffic stop.

The taping continues when a person is brought to the station.

"That keeps a lot of drunk driving cases from making it to court," Moore said. "The person sees what they acted like and decides not to fight it."

Many violators don't want to see the video used in court.

Gone also are the days when Moore had to leaf through a catalog of license plates to identify a vehicle.

"Now we can have a match pretty much before we pull the vehicle over," Moore said. "What used to take a week takes seconds with computers."

Overall, he said, simple carelessness causes most accidents, especially with young adults and teen-agers.

"The older people realize their reaction time is getting slower and are more careful," he said. "It's the younger ones who are getting more rambunctious when they drive."

Moore said college students are in accidents less than high school students.

"It seems that as soon as they get in college and have to foot the bills for gas, a place to live and insurance, they settle down," he said. "It seems most high school kids usually are driving on their parents' gas and insurance, and aren't as careful."