Redmond Police Conducting Patrols on Avondale Road

It's time to hang up and drive, says the Redmond Police Department.

Officers are conducting special patrols on Avondale Road for the rest of the month during the morning and afternoon commute hours, according to a news release from RPD.

Police will be looking for drivers who are using their cell phones, failing to signal, making unsafe lane changes, following too closely, speeding and failing to stop for school buses. Vehicles are not required to stop as long as one full lane separates the driver and a school bus when traveling in the opposite direction. It is never legal to pass a stopped school bus traveling in the same direction with its red lights flashing no matter how many lanes there are.

The special patrols are in response to an increase in rear-end collisions within the city, police said. In 2012, 40 percent of Redmond's 750 collisions were rear-end crashes—many of which showed no evidence of braking prior to impact.

How do you feel about these special patrols? Are there other places you think this should be done? Tell us in comments.