A yearly campaign, “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine,” under way by the N. C. Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, has some motorists worried — especially those who think it’s “safe” to go a few miles over the posted speed limit.
You can ask just about anyone and they’ll give you a number of miles per hour, whether it’s 4, 5 or 9, that they think buffers them from getting a speeding ticket, but according to N.C. Highway Patrol First Sergeant Chris E. Wood, there has never been a safe zone above the posted speed limit.
“I think it is only human nature for people to justify their actions with what they feel is reasonable. This is a busy time that we live in and people are stretched to the max attempting to meet deadlines and responsibilities. I hear so many different ‘tolerance thresholds’ that people feel are correct. The truth of the matter is that it is up to each individual trooper to decide what they feel is a clear cut and substantial violation,” Wood said.
The “Obey the Sign” campaign runs through April 3. It is not new, but it does have a new name. In past years, the nationwide project was called “No Need to Speed,” however, that name was trademarked by another group so it was no longer allowed to be used, Wood said. While enforcement is part of the project, the amount of attention brought to the danger of speeding is just as important to increasing safety, Sgt. Wood said. Troopers, according to SHP Policy, will issue citations for “clear cut and substantial” violations.
“This never changes for a trooper, regardless of the project or assignment that we are participating in,” Wood said. “The only change that our local office has implemented for the duration of this campaign is that we have assigned groups of troopers to work together in certain problem speeding areas within the district. The troopers are working these areas with the intent of reducing speed-related collisions that have proven to be a problem in the past.”
Troopers have wide discretion when determining whether to issue a citation including a speeding ticket, according to Wood. “There are many factors to be considered n this decision other than the numerical speed itself. A trooper must consider traffic density, weather conditions, the roadway type (two-lane versus four-lane, curvy versus straight, wide versus narrow, etc.) and the locality (residential, industrial, rural, etc.),” he said.
“For anyone to say that any amount over the speed limit is OK, they are not taking into consideration all of the factors that a trooper has to consider. A good example is a snow covered roadway,” Wood said. “While the speed limit may be 55 mph, if the road is snow covered, 35 mph or less may be an unsafe speed for roadway conditions and could possibly be cited under GS 20-141 (a).”
When asked if the “Obey the Sign” campaign is another way for the state to generate money or for troopers to reach some kind of quota, as many suggest, Wood explained why those theories don’t make sense.
“It is a very common ‘urban legend’ that troopers have to meet certain quotas of charges within a certain time frame. This could not be farther from the truth,” Wood said. “ North Carolina General Statutes specifically prohibit ‘quotas.’ Just as in any other job, troopers must justify their time through their activity, but there are so many other things that troopers do other than enforcement.”
“The Highway Patrol’s goal is to increase public safety through collision reduction. Collision reduction is addressed by analyzing statistics and then addressing issues through engineering, education, and enforcement. Citations are not revenue driven, but safety driven,” Wood explained.
“The Highway Patrol budget is funded through tax dollars, not through traffic citations,” he said.
“Fine money associated with traffic charges goes to the board of education in the county in which the charges were issued,” he said. “The court cost is broken down into many categories, with the majority paying for the court system itself, i.e. staff, supplies, facilities maintenance.”
Clay County’s accident rate was up 25 percent, from 48 last year to 60 in 2016 over the same period.
The increase seems sigificant, but Wood said you have to look closer at circumstances behind the increase.
“When you look at the fact that collisions are up 25 percent, it initially is fairly alarming. When you are dealing with relatively small numbers, percentages can skew the actual picture. In actuality, Clay County has shown an increase of 12 collisions,” Wood said. “This increase can be attributed to the snow events that our area endured during the months of January and February. At this time of year, typically if you compare numbers to the year before, you need to look at what the weather was like in comparison to the same time period the year before.”
Wood said with Clay County averaging around 20 collisions per month, one snow day that results in 10 or 12 collisions has a tremendous impact on the overall collision picture. “2015 weather-wise was fairly uneventful in the months of January and February.”
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, speeding was responsible for 345 fatalities in North Carolina last year and 56 so far this year.
