MARIETTA - Marietta Police say an experiment they've conducted in recent months seems to show that when drivers are warned that they are approaching a high-crash location, they pay attention.

In December, there were 503 traffic accidents across the city. In January, after police used the city's two electronic signs to warn drivers, there were 427 accidents. In February, there were 396 such crashes.

"The interesting thing to me is that you can't trace the (accident) reductions just to the intersections where we put the signs up. It's citywide," Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn said. "Just by putting the signs in certain locations, we're creating a citywide awareness of the need to drive safer."

The experiment started when the department's crime analyst, Micah Savage, began mapping high-crash locations late last year. Then, Sgt. M. Buehler, who supervises the department's STEP unit - which investigates traffic accidents - was asked the routine question of how he planned to reduce the number of crashes, Flynn said.

"The historic answer is, we're going to write more tickets," Flynn said. "But Sgt. Buehler said, 'We'd like to try some awareness, and tell the public there's a greater risk of a crash, and see how that affects their behavior.'"

The department rotated the electronic signs between six randomly selected accident hotspots. A news release announcing the experiment's results noted that there was "no concentrated increase in traffic citations at the accident hotspots."

"The randomness is what makes it more valid," Flynn said. "We only have two of the signs, and we can't use them full-time."

Sgt. Buehler said he has not seen any drawbacks to using the signs.

"Early on, we were afraid drivers would be reading the signs and run into the car in front of them. But we haven't seen that," said Buehler, who has been with the department for 10 years.

Flynn said the city averages about 500 crashes per month. More than half of all crashes in Marietta - 55 percent - are rear-end collisions, Buehler said.

"Most of those are caused by distracted driving - people talking on their cell phones, texting, eating, putting on makeup - basically doing everything but driving," Buehler said.

The benefits of fewer crashes are many, as are the hassles endured with accidents, police said. Flynn said that a typical crash involves two cars, so there are at least two people who may be injured, and who likely have to deal with insurance companies, get their cars fixed, maybe go to court, and more.

"To improve traffic is to improve quality of life," Flynn said. "If we have prevented - even conservatively - 50 accidents a month, that's 100 people who don't have to endure all that hassle. If we can do that, we've made the community safer."

Sgt. Buehler said it takes at least 30 minutes for an officer to work a non-fatal traffic crash, and document and clear the scene.

"With fewer crashes, traffic flows smoother and officers are freed up to do other things," he said.

Analyzing crime statistics and mapping them this way is relatively new for the department, which has 138 officers, Flynn said. Cobb County Police have used computer analysis since the early 1990s, but do not rotate an electronic sign the way Marietta has, Cobb Officer Joe Hernandez said.

Although Flynn said other factors besides the signs may have also contributed to the decrease in crashes, the signs clearly help.

"The results are preliminary, but I think they're striking," Flynn said. "The legitimate purpose of traffic enforcement is to prevent accidents, and this is the same principle as using red-light cameras. We're making the best use of our resources."