Potholes, winter weather make rough driving

Pennridge Regional Police Department doesn’t know exactly how many drivers got flat tires, and often wrecked rims, from potholes on Ridge Road, but from what officers have seen, the number is in the dozens, according to Chief David Mettin.

Both Mettin and West Rockhill Township Manager Greg Lippincott said at the Feb. 19 West Rockhill Township Board of Supervisors meeting they have been in contact several times with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation about the problem. Ridge Road (Route 563) is a state road.

Attempts were made by the state to fill the potholes, but a day after that work was done, the potholes returned, Lippincott and Mettin said, so they again notified PennDOT.

Markers were also placed at some of the potholes so drivers know they are approaching a pothole.

Many of the potholes are filled with water, so drivers don’t know how deep the hole is until they hit it, Mettin said.

“Once the water gets in it, you really can’t see it. You’re driving down the road and you lose your car,” Mettin said.

Other state-maintained roads in West Rockhill that were particularly hard-hit included Route 309, which is “like driving through Beirut,” board member Jay Keyser said.

In another driving-related matter, Pennridge Regional responded to 63 traffic accidents in East Rockhill and West Rockhill during January, according to the department’s monthly report. That included 33 non-reportable (no injuries and the vehicles did not need to be towed) and 29 reportable ones. There was also one hit-and-run.

“A lot of those nonreportable accidents were due to inclement weather,” Mettin said at the Feb. 20 Pennridge Regional Police Commission meeting.

The reportable accidents included 13 with injuries and 16 in which there were no injuries.

Asked about the effects of this winter’s weather, Mettin said the increased number of accidents is one of the results.

“We never have 60 accidents a month, so that impacted us,” he said.

There were also several disabled vehicles, he said.

While the accidents and disabled vehicles took up more officer time than usual, another part of the job that would normally be done — traffic enforcement details — wasn’t needed, he said.

“Nobody’s speeding anyway,” Mettin said, “because of the snow.”

In addition to the 63 traffic accidents, Pennridge Regional Police Department responded to 277 calls for service in East Rockhill and West Rockhill in January, according to the monthly report.

Following East Rockhill’s decision to decrease its share of the Pennridge Regional budget, state police began at the beginning of the year to cover East Rockhill six hours a day. Pennridge Regional continues to cover West Rockhill 24 hours a day and East Rockhill 18 hours a day.

In January, state police responded to 14 calls in East Rockhill, East Rockhill Township Board of Supervisors and Pennridge Regional Police Commission member Jim Nietupski said.

Follow Bob Keeler on Twitter @bybobkeeler.