A differing voice on speeding drivers
To the Editor:
I beg to differ with the man from Berwyn who has written to your paper several times seemingly opposing any kind of modern regulation of speeding drivers. His previous two letters encouraged PA drivers to contact their state representatives to ask them to vote to deny the use of radar guns to municipal officers to catch speeders, and his latest letter lamented the placement of speed cameras along Roosevelt Boulevard.
Concerning the radar issue, I believe that radar is a necessary tool for municipal officers, considering that the only officers authorized to use it, our state police, are kept very busy patrolling twothirds of our state and 61% of our highways. As a former police officer and thus a trained observer, I witness drivers almost every day speeding through school zones, work areas, other high-pedestrian areas as well as on local roads and major highways. Our municipal police need another tool to help them cut down on speeding.
The system our department used to control speeding was effective but limited because it tracked the speed of vehicles between two points on a highway and we had to be able to see both points, which is often difficult in urban – and suburban – settings. Also, we had to recalibrate the equipment to assure its accuracy on a separate course every time we used it, which was timeconsuming. Radar does not have these limitations, as it’s basically just point the device and read the speed. One officer using it several times a week in problem areas would certainly deter speeding.
As to the placement of speed cameras along Roosevelt Boulevard, that highway has long been one of the most dangerous in the Philadelphia metropolitan area for both drivers and pedestrians. I used to avoid it even when operating a police vehicle. However, I’m sure that a system that penalizes speeders with tickets carrying two hundred dollar fines, and possibly points against their license for repeat offenders, would slow drivers down.
Nowhere in the man from Berwyn’s letters, rife with statistics, does he mention the NHTSA, who have long cited speeding as one of the major causes of fatal vehicle accidents. He does, however, imply that modern methods of enforcement will cost all drivers money and inconvenience. I disagree. It may cost some drivers a little inconvenience, but it will cost only speeders money. I believe a little inconvenience is worth a lot more safety.