Police eye new tactic to curb truck traffic
Over 100 patrols done in area since start of year
Over 100patrols have been done in area since start of the year.
TOWAMENCIN >> Township police are looking into whether a new tactic could help cut down on truck traffic on Derstine Road.
“We’re continuing to truck along — no pun intended — with our selective enforcement out here on Derstine Road,” said police Chief Tim Troxel.
“Our numbers are staying pretty consistent, so the officers are still able to continue to get out there on a pretty regular basis,” he said.
Truck traffic on and around Derstine Road has been a topic of discussion since summer 2020, when residents in the area of Derstine and Allentown Roads warned the supervisors about heavy truck traffic there, noted heavy traffic backups, and said they had concerns about kids walking to school bus stops on streets with no sidewalks. Last October, the supervisors banned trucks traveling both directions on Derstine, but a second round of talks began in March 2021, when the township’s traffic engineer warned of roadwork scheduled for summer related to the 309 Connector, a planned highway between Route 309 in Hilltown Township and Route 476 in Towamencin, that would run in part along Wambold Road and parallel to Derstine.
Supervisors Chairman Chuck Wilson said Wednesday night that the board has heard more feedback from residents recently about trucks in that area, and asked Troxel to give an update.
“These violations have occurred repeatedly, by multiple trucks and trucking companies,” he said.
“At this point, we have revisited signage several times, and I think we believe we’re at the point where we’ve done everything we can do in terms of signage,” Wilson said.
Troxel told the board that he and his department have conducted 109 directed patrols for truck violations in that area between January 1 through June 30, “which averages out to one every 1.6 days, we have an officer out there, specifically trying to do nothing but truck enforcement.”
Each month the department has a staff meeting with all sergeants to discuss areas for directed patrols, and the Derstine-Allentown area has been at the top of that list, he said.
“In any month we can have two to four specific directed patrols that officers need to pay attention to, from other complaints. This isn’t the only one we have,” he said.
The department typically conducts ten to 15 total directed patrols each month, in addition to normal calls, outreach events and emergencies, he added.
“When you’re looking at these numbers, keep in mind, we’re being pulled in a number of different directions. And for the officers to dedicate this amount of time, I think is pretty impressive,” Troxel said.
“Unfortunately, some of these directed patrols might sit there for 15 or 20 minutes, until a call comes in and pulls them away, and they don’t see a single truck on the road. So we’re trying, and we’ll continue to try,” he said.
The length of time for those patrols can vary depending on activity elsewhere, he added, and an officer on patrol may not be able to catch every truck that violates the ban.
“I’ve read some notes that said, ‘Just as I pulled up, another call came in,’ or ‘As I had one truck pulled over, two more went past me the other way.’ So it does vary,” Troxel said.
What can the department do besides signage and pulling over drivers when possible? Troxel said he’s researching whether another angle may be effective beyond just ticketing the truck drivers who are caught.
“I’m still working out the legality of it, and whether or not it’s going to be something we can do, to make it stick, but it is something — we can start going directly after either the owner of the trucking company, or the director of transportation,” he said.
“Instead of citing drivers for a violation, we’re starting to hit the owners or the directors themselves. So we’re going to start costing the company money with these citations,” Troxel said.
If allowed by the state vehicle code, the chief told the board, doing so could escalate the costs of violations more quickly than the current practices, and that could lead those employers to tell drivers to find other routes.
“If we start billing the owners for the repeat violations, then it’s affecting their bottom line. Maybe they will set up an edict, and say to their drivers, ‘You’d better not be on Derstine Road,’” he said.
Supervisor Dan Bell asked if Troxel had data on the average length of time for a patrol, and Troxel said he’d share that with the board ahead of future talks. Supervisor Dan Littley added that he was at that intersection earlier Wednesday morning, and saw a large truck pass through, going right by the truck ban signs.
“It’s too bad we’re limited in the amount of fines you can give people for stupidity,” he said.
Troxel replied that those truck drivers may simply be playing the odds.
“There are some, I’m sure, that are fully aware, and choosing to just roll the dice and do it anyway, knowing there might be a chance there’s somebody sitting there, waiting to tag him. And sometimes there isn’t,” he said.
Supervisor Rich Marino added that he was glad to hear police are keeping up the routine patrols and looking for creative ways to tackle the problem.
“The guys are putting in the effort, that I can tell you. The numbers bear that out,” Troxel said.
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7:30 p.m. on July 28 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road. For more information visit www.Towamencin.org.