Eastern Pike Regional Police Department Launches Blitz Against Speeding

Posted by Vic on Aug 10th, 2009 and filed under Pike County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

“Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine”
PIKE COUNTY – The Eastern Pike Regional Police Department today launched a tough new speed enforcement blitz for the Borough of Matamoras and the Township of Westfall under the tagline: “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine.” The intensified enforcement effort against speeding drivers underscores the severity of the problem both locally and across the nation.
“Speeding translates to death on our roadways. It greatly reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object, or an unexpected curve. Speeding drivers put themselves, their passengers and other drivers at tremendous risk, said Police Chief Chad Stewart.
In 2005, speeding was a contributing factor in more than a third of all fatal crashes in the U.S. and more than 13,000 lives were lost in such crashes, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“During the “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine” blitz,officers will intensify enforcement of posted speed limits in Matamoras Borough and Westfall Township. We’ll stop and ticket anyone caught speeding—especially in school zones said Chief Stewart.
Fully 86 percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities occur on local roads — where the posted speed limits were 55 miles per hour or under. According to NHTSA, a crash on a road with a speed limit of 65 mph or greater is more than twice as likely to result in a fatality than a crash on a road with a speed limit of 45 or 50 mph and nearly five times as likely as a crash on a road with a speed limit of 40 mph or below. About 14 percent of the country’s speeding-related fatalities occur on interstate highways each year.
“Driving above the posted speed limit or speeding in bad weather conditions dramatically increases the probability that a motorist will be involved in a crash,” said Chief Stewart
“During this enforcement blitz, officers will be out targeting and ticketing speeding drivers,” said Chief Stewart. “Our goal is to save lives and we’re putting all drivers on alert – the posted speed limit IS THE LAW. No more warnings and no more excuses. When it comes to speeding: Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine.”
NHTSA considers a crash speeding-related if the driver was charged with exceeding the posted speed limit or if the driver was driving too fast for conditions at the time.
For more information please visit Traffic Safety Marketing.