In search of speeders, it was a slow day
This month, I asked readers for suggestions on locations to check out with my radar gun, and they did not disappoint. A good crop of candidates came in by phone and email, and I headed out Thursday to see what I could find.
But I didn’t find much. In three locations, at least one of which I know firsthand sees a fair amount of speeding, I came back with little to show for my efforts. I clocked a grand total of two speeders.
I could have ditched my results and gone back on the road to search for more speeders. But I think there’s value in pointing out where I didn’t find speeders, which could be due to a number of reasons.
As a reminder, here’s how my checks work. I go to a location with my speed gun and camp out on the side of the road for 15 minutes. I clock how fast traffic is going and jot down every time I spot someone going more than 10 mph over the speed limit. I use that speed because it reflects how fast you have to be going for local police, who can’t use speed guns, to write you a ticket for speeding. shoulders and is wide in many spots, but all those conditions cause drivers to relax and pay less attention to their speed. It looks like I’m not the only one who gets paranoid.
My area of concern is Center Street in Bethlehem between Macada Road and Ilick’s Mill Road. Previous attempts to report this problem have not been successful. I was told it was a state road. I called the nonemergency police number, and they installed the requested speed indicator for a day. Nearby Hanover Township has many installed speed indicators, and they help me as a driver. The speed limit is 40, but everyone speeds.
I set up shop across the street from the enormous First Presbyterian Church around noon Thursday. I caught just one person going more than 50 mph. A second driver likely was speeding, but they were on the fringe of my speed gun’s range, and I can’t be sure my reading was accurate. A third driver was pushing his luck but slowed down in a hurry when he spotted a weirdo on the side of the road with a speed gun.
I suspect I would have caught more drivers speeding if I visited around the morning rush hour or around 4 p.m., but it is what it is. Nearly all the drivers I spotted were going right around 40 mph, which I think is an entirely appropriate speed for the road here.
As for the speed indicators, I see no reason why one can’t be installed here. As I pointed out, it can be easy to speed through here. I also wouldn’t want to raise the speed limit, as a 50 mph speed limit would effectively allow 60 mph travel, which is too high for the road.
My advice would be to enlist neighbors and to keep pressure on the city and PennDOT. While the city has limited control over the matter — it is a state road — they can advocate on your behalf with PennDOT. And state officials are more likely to take requests from the city seriously than a random resident. caught one driver abusing the speed limit at 56 mph. Most drivers I clocked were actually going under the speed limit, slowing down to 40 mph as they approached Egypt or not gunning their engines on their way out. Now, if I went a few blocks east and checked the 35 mph zone, I think I would have caught more speeders. I get nervous when I drive through because I notice other drivers speeding despite the residential area and the on-street parking. But I wanted to honor Keith’s request.
At some point outside Egypt, I think a 45 mph speed limit is appropriate. If I lived on Route 329, I would likely believe that spot would not be outside my front door. But it needs to happen somewhere, and I fully support Keith’s rights to petition state and local government. I looked up crash data in Whitehall Township over the last five years, hoping to bolster his case with data, but the numbers fell fall short of offering a persuasive argument. In a case like this, I would likely focus my efforts on having better police enforcement than trying to change the speed limit. doesn’t surprise me for the reasons Eric spelled out. Hamilton Street is a congested mess. It stands to reason that people would look to make up for “lost time” on a quieter street.
But for someone to reach 50-55 mph would require ignoring the most basic standards of road safety. The block is bookended by two traffic lights, it’s an urban residential street and the posted speed limit is 25 mph. Few cars during my visit Thursday afternoon broke 30 mph; none touched 35 mph.
While standing on the corner with my speed gun, I started a conversation with a local resident. She agreed that people abuse the speed limit through here, but attributed the problem more to random street racers than general traffic. If that’s the case, that presents a different, unique set of challenges that a typical Road Warrior stakeout is not equipped to resolve.
Morning Call reporter Tom Shortell can be reached at 610820-6168 or tshortell@mcall .com.