“DECELERATION: IT'S THE LAW”
by Rick Jones, Husband of the Minister's Wife
The rural town I lived in for many years was primarily a farming community. At the center of town was our lone traffic light located at the intersection of two state highways.
Many moons ago, when I was in high school, the main north-south highway in our state was being rerouted to bypass several towns, including my own. It was deemed better for the state's economy if vehicles didn't have to slow down from 55 MPH to 45, 35, even 25 MPH as they traveled. Not that they all did, of course. It was commonly believed that many out-of-town drivers were dyslexic. The signs at the edge of town clearly said “SPEED LIMIT 35 MPH”, yet many people drove as if they thought the signs said “53”.
The railroad crossing at the south edge of town had not been repaired for quite a while. It was also slightly elevated. Motorists could elect to [1] slow down and ease over the bumpy rails, hoping that no semi truck was bearing down on them; [2] follow the posted speed limit, which would still rattle one's teeth; [3] accelerate on the incline and go airborne over the bumps. Judging from the number of mufflers and hub caps by the side of the road, option #3 was quite popular. But overall, that crossing worked as a better speeding deterrent than the speed limit signs.
The other method of slowing vehicles was the posted warning from the local police: “SPEED CHECKED BY RADAR”. These signs were displayed at the north, south, east, and west edges of town. As part of the high school's driver education class, I talked to the chief of police about traffic safety. I asked about the effectiveness of this system, and he believed that drivers were slowing their vehicles significantly since the signs had been put up. He also mentioned that it had proven to be very cost-effective. When I asked for specifics, he said that the entire deterrent system had cost the town only $140. I was amazed, guessing that just one radar gun would cost more than that.
He replied, “Radar gun? No, all we bought were four 'SPEED CHECKED BY RADAR' signs at $35.00 each.”
We live on a hill and have a huge problem with speeding in my town. Another problem we have is the illegal use of ATV's on the main roads which is dangerous because of the constant speeding. I'm always afraid someone is going to lose control coming off the hill and end up in my yard or my house.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a scary thing. We see snow mobiles a lot around here on the main streets and I think the same thing!
DeleteOMG hahaha this made me laugh! I once lived in a small town in South Dakota, but it had more than one signal (it had about 6 in the main street). Sadly people do no obey signs, the only way they will follow the rules is only if there is a police officer giving tickets every day for 2 weeks straight… 24/7
ReplyDeleteThat little town we lived in seemed to have a regular schedule for when tickets would be given out! but it worked!
DeleteSadly, many people need to see the police car before they'll even consider following the posted speed limit. And it's not respect for the law or the community they're driving through, just respect for their wallets.
ReplyDeleteWhile at college, I heard guys mock the police officers at a small nearby town for their "speed trap". Once, passing through the town on their way back to school, they did obey the speed limit but rolled down a window and yelled, "Hey, Barney Fife!" as they passed the police car. The officer pulled out, and followed them, but did not pull them over. Instead, he followed them all the way [about 4 miles] to the campus. When they parked, he pulled up behind them, got our of his vehicle, turned on his rooftop lights, and made a show of writing down their license number. Then he walked over to the administration building [leaving his vehicle to block the student's car and the lights flashing to draw attention] and asked to speak to the dean of students. A couple of minutes later the dean was seen looking out of his office window at the situation.
Those guys learned a lesson about respect. If not respect for the law, then respect for the concept of payback.
[It's a true story, folks.]
It's very true! I was there on that campus and remember it well! Of course I also remember someone kidnapping the president of the school too!!
DeleteHa ha! It is a sad truth that a lot of drivers won't abide traffic laws unless they think someone is watching them. The town I used to live in placed cameras at traffic lights to deter speeding up on yellow lights to cross and just plain running red lights. After a while, people began to suspect that those cameras were there for show. One day a person tried their luck with the camera and ran red light because no cars were coming from the other direction. Then that bright flash blasted and I looked my boyfriend and said I guess they are not for show afterall! lol
ReplyDeleteThat's funny! I've heard of towns doing the fake cameras thing. But catching someone like that is funny!
DeleteOh goodness! How funny is that! Well, I guess you learned that you could do option #3 without worrying about a "radar" gun catching you! hehehe. Great story.
ReplyDeleteI get so frustrated with drivers coming down my street. I'm in a residential neighborhood but our street cuts to a main road that goes to the next town so we get a lot of traffic. Speed limit is 25mph. as it should be because just about every house has young children. I am in awe(not in a good way) at how many people come flying down the road(usually looking at their phones) and way too many even go right through the stop sign near my house. It's so frustrating. Last year a boy down the road was hit by a driver who ran the sign and was speeding. Thankfully the kid is ok now but he was in the hospital for a couple of weeks and could have been much worse.
ReplyDelete