THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 20, 1997 TAG: 9701200042
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NAOMI AOKI, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 141 lines
Trooper Karl E. Campbell fell in behind a Jeep Cherokee that had just breezed by at 70 mph. Seconds later, Campbell turned on his lights and let his siren wail on Interstate 664 in Suffolk.
It didn't matter to Campbell that the man he was about to ticket had a professional firefighters license plate.
``I could tell he wasn't on his way to a fire,'' he said last week after giving the driver two tickets: one for speeding and one for not wearing a seat belt.
Campbell isn't trying to be a tough guy. The way he sees it, he's just doing his job. He is southeastern Virginia's most prolific writer of traffic tickets among the region's 200 troopers.
In the 16-month stretch ending Nov. 30, Campbell gave 2,988 tickets, an analysis of state police records shows. That's an average of nine tickets a day.
Campbell gives out most of the tickets for speeding and seat-belt violations. In fact, he gave out an average of two tickets a day for seat-belt violations, the most of any trooper in the state.
And excuses are futile. He's heard them all, and he's rarely swayed.
In fact, during the 16-month period, Campbell gave no warnings. Not one.
``Whew,'' Campbell said, wrinkling his brow as he tried to remember the last time he let someone off with a warning. ``It's been a while.''
But he will note an excuse on the ticket. Then, if anyone wants to dispute the ticket, it's up to the judge.
``One time a man told me he was speeding because his foot was stuck to the pedal,'' Campbell said matter-of-factly. ``I asked him how he stopped, and he said he used his other foot.''
Campbell gave him the ticket. The judge let him off, saying he'd never heard that excuse before.
``Whatever the judge decides is fine with me,'' Campbell said. ``I've done my part. My job is to look for violations and take action.''
Campbell has earned 42 commendations in his eight years patrolling Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk interstates. He has been recognized for helping disabled motorists (1,300 during the 16-month period), for promoting the use of seat belts and for his outstanding enforcement work.
``He has a strong work ethic,'' Campbell's supervisor, Sgt. D.A. Reckelhoff, said. ``He's seen fatal motor vehicle crashes, and he knows what happens to people when they speed, drive recklessly and do not wear their seat belts. That's why he's taken such a strong and positive approach to law enforcement.''
Campbell remains modest about his accomplishments. As for being the area's top ticket writer, he shrugs it off saying, ``I don't know. That's what they tell me.''
Besides, it's not about the number of tickets, Campbell said. It's about enforcing laws, promoting safety and helping motorists.
As Campbell talks, cars rush up, readying to pass his unmarked beige Ford sedan bearing large antennae, then suddenly dropping back. He is now leading a procession of cars going 55 mph.
Campbell quickly eyes each car as it approaches, checking to see that the inspection and registration stickers are up to date and that the driver and passengers are belted in. He glances frequently at his rear-view mirror.
And when he sees someone breaking the rules of the road, he snaps to action.
His style is simple and swift: He pulls the rule-breakers over, puts on his hat, approaches and politely tells them what tickets they are getting.
Campbell writes up the tickets in his car. He has mountains of paperwork to do: tickets, daily logs, weekly reports. He files it all neatly away in his office on wheels.
Back on the road, Campbell roams his patrol area, which includes parts of Interstates 664, 64 and 464 and Route 58. Campbell pulls his patrol car onto Interstate 464, where he does the bulk of his business. He stopped the same woman three times in two weeks on this stretch of highway.
The other troopers ``joke that we should rename this the Karl Campbell Highway. I hate it when they say that,'' Campbell said, smiling and a little embarrassed.
Nobody is exempt. Campbell has even given a pregnant woman a speeding ticket.
``She was in the late stages of pregnancy,'' Campbell said. ``At first, she told me she was having a baby. I asked her if she needed an ambulance and she said no. Then I asked if she was in pain and she said no. She said she was just on her way to work.''
Tuesday, Campbell gave out seven tickets: two for speeding, two for seat-belt violations, one for following too closely, another for driving with a suspended license and another for an expired registration.
He stopped to remove a tire from the road, to check on a driver stopped in the breakdown lane and to give directions to another motorist. He had a broken-down truck removed from an exit ramp and investigated a fender-bender in Suffolk.
On and off the road, Campbell is a gentleman. He calls everyone sir or ma'am, and even when people mouth off to him, Campbell keeps his cool.
``You can tell that he was raised with strong family values,'' Reckelhoff said. Campbell, who grew up in Chesterfield County outside of Richmond, is one of 16 children. One of his brothers is also a Virginia state trooper.
``Trooper Campbell is very polite,'' Reckelhoff continued. ``That's one of the first things that struck me about him.''
That's also what endears him to the people at Chesapeake General District Court.
``He's a hard-working fellow and just the nicest person you could ever meet,'' General District Court Clerk Phyllis Hamric said.
Fortunately, he is also patient.
Hamric said the judges often hear Campbell's cases last because of the sheer volume of them. That means a lot of waiting around for Campbell.
``The girls are always teasing him about making him go last, but he says it's OK with him,'' Hamric said.
On Thursday, Campbell's cases took up 18 pages of the 42-page court schedule. His cases numbered 252.
But Campbell admits he isn't perfect. He got a couple of speeding tickets before he was a trooper.
``My wife gets on me about that,'' Campbell said. ``When I'm in my personal vehicle, I'll still look around and say look at that and this. My wife'll say, `Well, you weren't a perfect driver before you got a job with the state police.' '' ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN color photos/The Virginian-Pilot
Trooper Karl E. Campbell relies on his rear-view mirror to help him
spot road hazards - as well as speeders.
In the 16-month stretch ending Nov. 30, Virginia State Trooper Karl
E. Campbell handed out 2,988 tickets. That's an average of nine
tickets a day. He gives out most of the tickets for speeding and
seat-belt violations.
Photo
BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Trooper Karl E. Campbell has been commended 42 times during his
eight years patrolling Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk
interstates. He has been recognized for helping disabled motorists,
for promoting the use of seat belts and for his outstanding work in
traffic enforcement.
Graphic
ROBERT D. VOROS/The Virginian-Pilot
ONE-MAN ARMY
How the average state trooper and a southeastern Virginia trooper
fare against the ticket-writing talents of Trooper Karl E. Campbell.
SOURCE: Virginian-Pilot analysis of state police records.
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA STATE POLICE TRAFFIC TICKETS