SmokeyBandit
06-29-2005, 05:58 PM
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-06292005-508528.html
Town pulls fast one on speed limit
By JAMES MCGINNIS
Bucks County Courier Times
Hulmeville - Forget state law.
Main Street traffic was going too fast for Hulmeville’s standards.
So borough officials admit they “improperly” changed dozens of speed signs on the state road — a revelation that could call into question thousands of traffic tickets issued over the past five years.
“I know. I know. It’s silly,” admitted Councilman Ed Preston. “But when you post the sign at 35 mph, most people automatically go 10 miles over that speed. It’s a force of habit.
“So we changed them,” Preston said. “We’ve got two churches, a school, families and a duck crossing on that street. It’s not a highway.”
PennDOT officials disagree, even though it took them at least five years to find out about the sign change. The state transportation agency recently demanded that the borough correct the error.
New 35 mph speed limit signs went up last week. The speed was set at 35 mph in 1960 after extensive study, said agency spokesman Charlie Metzger.
“We don’t make arbitrary designations about speeds,” he said. “We do a safety study. We do a line of sight study. We do a speed study. There are many factors we consider.”
But what of those ticketed speeders? Hundreds of drivers were ticketed over the last year alone, police said. Sgt. Chuck Grimasuckas said the cops were responding to repeated complaints from neighbors who clocked cars headed down the two-lane road at speeds near 70 mph.
“It’s just astronomical — the number of speeders on this road. And now people are going to be in even more danger,” Grimasuckas said of the 35 mph speed limit.
Grimasuckas defended the borough’s decision to illegally change the signs, and said police were simply obeying the posted law.
“We don’t enforce what the state says or the borough says,” Grimasuckas added. “We enforce what the sign says. And the law says that drivers must obey the posted speed limit.”
Specializing in traffic law, Philadelphia attorney Richard Hoy said he would question any speeding tickets issued to Main Street drivers.
“In my legal opinion, those ticketed drivers could come back after the municipality,” Hoy said. “I would certainly ask for a dismissal.”
District Judge Joseph Falcone, who presides over traffic citations in Hulmeville, declined to weigh in.
“I guess I just assumed that everything was done appropriately by the local authority,” he said.
James McGinnis can be reached at 215-949-3248 or jmcginnis@phillyBurbs.com.
June 29, 2005 5:21 AM
Town pulls fast one on speed limit
By JAMES MCGINNIS
Bucks County Courier Times
Hulmeville - Forget state law.
Main Street traffic was going too fast for Hulmeville’s standards.
So borough officials admit they “improperly” changed dozens of speed signs on the state road — a revelation that could call into question thousands of traffic tickets issued over the past five years.
“I know. I know. It’s silly,” admitted Councilman Ed Preston. “But when you post the sign at 35 mph, most people automatically go 10 miles over that speed. It’s a force of habit.
“So we changed them,” Preston said. “We’ve got two churches, a school, families and a duck crossing on that street. It’s not a highway.”
PennDOT officials disagree, even though it took them at least five years to find out about the sign change. The state transportation agency recently demanded that the borough correct the error.
New 35 mph speed limit signs went up last week. The speed was set at 35 mph in 1960 after extensive study, said agency spokesman Charlie Metzger.
“We don’t make arbitrary designations about speeds,” he said. “We do a safety study. We do a line of sight study. We do a speed study. There are many factors we consider.”
But what of those ticketed speeders? Hundreds of drivers were ticketed over the last year alone, police said. Sgt. Chuck Grimasuckas said the cops were responding to repeated complaints from neighbors who clocked cars headed down the two-lane road at speeds near 70 mph.
“It’s just astronomical — the number of speeders on this road. And now people are going to be in even more danger,” Grimasuckas said of the 35 mph speed limit.
Grimasuckas defended the borough’s decision to illegally change the signs, and said police were simply obeying the posted law.
“We don’t enforce what the state says or the borough says,” Grimasuckas added. “We enforce what the sign says. And the law says that drivers must obey the posted speed limit.”
Specializing in traffic law, Philadelphia attorney Richard Hoy said he would question any speeding tickets issued to Main Street drivers.
“In my legal opinion, those ticketed drivers could come back after the municipality,” Hoy said. “I would certainly ask for a dismissal.”
District Judge Joseph Falcone, who presides over traffic citations in Hulmeville, declined to weigh in.
“I guess I just assumed that everything was done appropriately by the local authority,” he said.
James McGinnis can be reached at 215-949-3248 or jmcginnis@phillyBurbs.com.
June 29, 2005 5:21 AM