We here in Moretown are actively dealing with the same speeding issues as in Warren, and in many surrounding towns.
We have enlisted the help of the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission to assist us in this endeavor. We are doing speed and traffic studies to see where to best focus our efforts.
We also have an electric speed display trailer that we move around town to remind folks how fast they are traveling. At this point I’d say results are mixed.
Our town budget has a line item of $26,000 for enforcement by the sheriff, and again results are mixed. In my opinion, the sheriff needs to be here, on Route 100B in Moretown, from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. or so, and then again 2 p.m. until 4 or 5 p.m., ensuring traffic is monitored during school hours and commuting hours. Not much is going on here midday as far as volume goes, just plenty of local folks, driving too fast for conditions!
One case in point is Route 100 as you enter Waitsfield, especially from the north. It has taken years but by now most drivers seem to slow down as they pass Waitsfield Elementary School due to heavy enforcement over the past few years. Also, common sense should have us being more careful near a school.
Better education and enforcement are badly needed. Firstly, there is a law on the books in Vermont known as the basic speed rule – Title 23 Subchapter 8 # 1081.
It states that every driver in the state much adhere to basic safe principles of driving.
A speed limit sign is simply a legal maximum on that road. Every driver must change / lower their speed due to changing road and or traffic conditions. This includes hills, curves, weather, traffic, nighttime conditions, etc.
Most crashes occur due to people operating too fast for conditions, distractions, use of cellphones, poor judgment, aggression or usually a combo of at least three of these things. Over 90-plus percent of most crashes are due to human error. Motorists do not just “come out of nowhere.”
We are not searching for trouble properly, or we are not searching at all. We are distracted by any number of things other than focusing on our driving!
May we all resolve, in this New Year, to do a better job of being safer on our roads. Slow down, especially on backroads.
Please be courteous, patient, and respectful of one another, including bicyclists!
Life is too precious not to be. Thanks for listening.
Lynch lives in Moretown.
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