“Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine”
Undersheriff John Ball of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office announced today that the agency has launched a tough new speed enforcement blitz for Madison County 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,” Ball said. “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.”
In 2015, speeding was a contributing factor in 27 percent of all fatal crashes in the U.S., and more than
9,500 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. Ball said a recent NHTSA report shows that a major proportion of fatal, speed-related single vehicle crashes occur on rural roadways.
“During the ‘Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine’ blitz, officers will intensify enforcement of posted speed
limits in Madison County,” Ball said. “We’ll stop and ticket anyone caught speeding.”
Seventeen percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities occurred on local roads where the posted speed limits were 55 miles per hour or slower. 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 15 percent of the country’s speeding-related fatalities occur on interstate highways each year.
In wintry conditions or on wet roads, the numbers were even worse, with speeding a factor in 34
percent of the fatal crashes when there was snow or slush on the road and in 43 percent of the fatal
crashes that occurred on icy roads.
“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 Ball.
“During this enforcement blitz, officers will be out targeting and ticketing speeding drivers,” Ball said.
“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.”
For more information, visit trafficsafetymarketing.gov/.