How to Curb Speeding

I emailed and talked with Deputy Pittman with the Richland County Sheriff Department (RCSD) Monday afternoon about the speeding problem we have in the neighborhood.  Deputy Pittman is a member of the Community Action Team responsible for the region that covers our neighborhood.

I asked him about steps we could take to help curb the speeding.  These included:

1. Increasing patrols by the RCSD to ticket those speeding.
2. Installation of additional stop signs as a means of limiting speed.  Richland County does not support the use of speed bumps.
3. Lowering of the speed limit.

Patrols and Ticketing

I asked Deputy Pittman to step up the number and frequency of speed patrols in the neighborhood.  He was frank about the limited resources the department has to run regular speed checks.  This was not surprising given the financial struggles most governments are facing these days.  He said they would place a radar wagon in the neighborhood sometime next week and will do their best to increase patrols. 

If you see someone speeding and you’re able to get a tag number, he wants you to call 911 immediately.  They will come out and talk with the person seen speeding.  He said that they’re often in the region and that they’d be able to respond fairly quickly to such a call.  I had reservations about calling 911 for this, but he stressed that they’d rather get a 911 call for someone speeding than one for an injured child. 

Stop Signs and Speed Limit

Deputy Pittman said that we would need to work through the South Carolina Department of Transportation to have additional stop signs posted in the neighborhood.  He said he’s had other communities that have done this.  It’s not difficult to get the additional stop signs approved, but it can be a lengthy process.

We didn’t explicitly discuss the speed limit question I sent him, but I assume the process would be the same as the stop signs.  Frankly, stop signs seem like the best method of controlling traffic speed in lieu of speed bumps.  Both instruments are voluntary.  People tend to at least slow down for stop signs and that’s exactly what we want.

Thoughts

We can help Deputy Pittman get the additional resources he needs to step up traffic patrols of the neighborhood (and it’ll help with deterring crime as well).  Naturally, the budget and resource allocation are not within his control.  We all need to contact our county leaders and let them know this is important.  The more we do this, the more attention we’ll get.

What are your thoughts about controlling the speed?  Should we pursue the stop signs?  Post a comment to let us know your thoughts.