Palm Springs police present traffic data, press for engineering, education and enforcement push

Chief Mills, head of the Palm Springs Police Department, told the City Council on Jan. 28 that traffic collisions remain a leading local safety problem and outlined a three-part approach to reducing crashes.

"The bottom line is anybody dying in our city is one too many," Mills said, after presenting data showing 1,497 recorded collisions between 2023 and 2025, of which 549 had visible injuries, 110 were severe and 27 were fatal. He noted that DUI, failure to yield and speeding together account for more than half of collisions.

Mills framed the response around engineering, education and enforcement. On engineering, he urged traffic-calming measures such as circles and lane adjustments and suggested city staff study European-style treatments; on education, he endorsed campaigns like Vision Zero to change driver behavior; on enforcement he described stepped-up operations including "Operation Rearview Mirror," calibration of vehicle speedometers, and plans to restore motor officer staffing to three officers after recent losses.

Council members asked for more detail on red-light and signal violations and whether camera or drone technologies could help. Mills said signal enforcement can be difficult without clear line-of-sight or corroborating evidence but offered to run plate checks on complaints submitted by residents and to share additional analysis the department is compiling.

Several council members and the chief discussed pedestrian safety in particular; Mills said eight of recent fatal collisions involved pedestrians walking in the roadway and urged both better street design and countermeasures to reduce exposure. The council encouraged staff to return with data-driven engineering proposals and to coordinate possible grant funding for targeted enforcement and education programs.