EPD participates in 'Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine'

News-Times
News-Times

Speeders beware.

Starting today, El Dorado police officers will be engaging in a nationwide enforcement blitz called “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine” to crack down on speeding.

The El Dorado Police Department is joining law enforcement agencies across the state and country in an intensified effort to underscore the severity of a problem with speeding that is occurring nationwide, said officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The campaign will be in effect through July 22, and during that time, officers will be assigned to problem areas throughout El Dorado to make sure drivers obey posted speed limits along city streets, said Lt. Kenny Hickman of the EPD.

“Speeding translates to death and/or serious injury on our roadways. It greatly reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object or an unexpected curve,” Hickman said. “Speeding drivers put themselves, their passengers and other drivers at tremendous risk.”

One area where officers have been on the lookout for speeding in recent months is West Main between Timberlane and Bradley.

Residents have also complained about speeding along Martin Luther King between Main and Champagnolle — the site of a fatal motorcycle crash that also involved two pickup trucks in May 2016.

The motorcycle reportedly rear-ended a pickup truck, forcing the truck into oncoming traffic and into the path of another pickup truck that was traveling north on MLK.

The rider of the motorcycle was thrown into a bed of rocks in a ditch on the west side of MLK, several feet away from the point of impact with the pickup, and died the following day in a Little Rock hospital.

To avoid a collision, the second pickup truck swerved and careened into a ditch, police said at the time.

Weeks later, the El Dorado City Council agreed to reduce the speed limit on MLK from 45 to 30 miles per hour between Faulkner and Champagnolle and raise the limit from 25 mph to 30 mph between Main and Faulkner to maintain consistency with the 30 mph limit between Champagnolle and 19th.

“During the ‘Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine’ blitz … we’ll stop and ticket drivers caught speeding, especially in problem areas where most of our speed-related crashes occur,” Hickman said. “There are some problems areas that have been identified and are on our agenda.”

In 2015, speeding was a contributing factor in 27 percent of all fatal crashes in the U.S. and more than 9,500 people died in such crashes, according to NHSTA statistics.

The same year, 17 percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities occurred on local roads, where posted speed limits were 55 miles per hour or under.

Crashes on roads with a speed limit of 65 mph or greater are more than twice as likely to result in a fatality than crashes on roads with a speed limit of 45 or 50 mph and nearly five times as likely as crashes on roads with a speed limit of 40 mph or below.

In Arkansas, there were 531 traffic fatalities in 2015. Ninety, or 17 percent, of those traffic fatalities were speeding related.

The EPD is focusing on streets within city limits, where the maximum posted speed limit is 45 mph.

“Our goal is to save lives, and we’re putting all drivers on alert. The posted speed limit IS THE LAW!” Hickman emphasized.

“Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine” is the latest in a series of targeted, nationwide law enforcement campaigns in which the EPD has taken part over the past several months.

During mobilization efforts in April, May and June/early July, the EPD stepped up enforcement on impaired driving, unrestrained driving and drunk driving, respectively.

Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.

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