Inside MPD's newly-formed Traffic Safety Unit

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee police are giving us an inside look at the efforts to crack down on reckless driving.

This comes after the announcement of a new Traffic Safety Unit.

The city's south side is just one of several places you'll be seeing more officers looking for reckless drivers.

Data from crashes and civilian reports will also help the department determine where those areas of attention are located.

"I'm looking for speed, because there isn't a whole lot of room for them to be passing on the right," said Officer Alan Klaudi. "Like this gentleman right here is doing 53."

CBS 58 rode along with Officer Klaudi as he showed us the efforts the police department is making to crack down on reckless driving.

"I know that there are a lot of people out there that are feeling the effects of the reckless driving," said Officer Klaudi. "Myself, I live up on the north side, just driving into work you see if pretty much every day."

Twenty officers, including Klaudi, are part of the Traffic Safety Unit.

"The goal is to curve reckless driving. To increase the safety of everybody out on the roadway."

They're making their presence known, so drivers know they're around and on the lookout.

"Unfortunately, I see it all," said Officer Klaudi. "There's also the red light violations, the stop sign violations. The speeding right now is probably the top that I see."

The crackdown also involves community reports through their website. There, people can report a dangerous intersection, a particular incident, driver or car.

From 2019-2020, reckless driving citations jumped from more than 14,000 to more than 17,000.

Fatal crashes also increased from 51 in 2019 to 77 in 2020.

"Slow down. There's no need to speed."

Milwaukee police say since the initiative kicked off a few weeks ago, they have since received more than 1,000 complaints of intersections and incidents pertaining to reckless driving.

You can find the link to report this behavior, here.