Arrest Slow Drivers--One County's Answer to Aggressive Driving

#1767

Author: Jim Titus
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 00:00

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In our various discussions of aggressive driving, a number of possible
policy options have been overlooked.  One solution would be to simply
arrest anyone who drives more than 10 mph under the speed limit--better
yet, anyone who drives less than 5mph over the limit.  That would leave
much more room for people who want to go fast, and thus, they would be
less likely to be aggressive because they would be having a better day
with no slowpokes on the road.  Moreover, it is probably easier to
enforce than other solutions because these slow drivers are so easy to
catch.

	This policy is being tested in Frederick County, Maryland. 
Unfortunately, the only description I have is a biased editorial from
the Washington Post, which opposes this policy--which one would expect
from a liberal DC paper.  Still, this conveys the general gist of this
innovative solution to aggressive driving.

See
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/26/038l-062698-idx.html

Friday, June 26, 1998; Page A26 

   ESTER MARIA Pena's going to think twice before venturing into
Frederick County,
Md., again. Perhaps so should most motorists if they, like Ms. Pena,
happen to drive
 under the speed limit and might be likely to mistake a sheriff deputy's
siren for an
  ambulance. Her harrowing June 12 experience with three county officers
is one that
ought to have county leaders and other citizens up in arms.
 For driving 38 mph in a 55 mph zone and not pulling over when she heard
a siren --
 which she thought was coming from an ambulance she couldn't see --
Frederick
                 
	 County sheriff's deputies, one with gun drawn, descended upon Ms.
Pena, a D.C.
   schoolteacher, manhandling her as if she were public enemy No. 1. It
was a stark
  case of an excessive use of force and police overreaction. It was also
a dumb thing
  to have done, made only dumber by the explanations from the sheriff's
department.

 "Older ladies that are confused and scared unfortunately cause
accidents," said
  Maj. Francis Tully in the sheriff's office. He was referring to the
58-year-old Ms.
Pena. Consider the possibility, however, that Maj. Tully has it
backward. That
 maybe Ms. Pena -- who was driving slowly along the highway looking for
an exit so
 she could get to her ladies' church group on time for lunch -- ended up
scared out of
her wits by the behavior of his deputies. Maybe driving slowly looking
for a left exit
 does impede traffic flow. But does it warrant being pulled over,
ordered to put your
 hands behind your head by officers -- one with gun drawn -- yanked out
of your car
by your arm, made to bend over the trunk, handcuffed roughly, and then
hauled off
to the county detention center, where you're kept in leg shackles for
hours while
waiting for a bail commissioner? We'd say Ms. Pena had good and
sufficient reason
to be terrified, disgusted and mad as hell to boot.

                  Frederick County leaders ought to be all over the
sheriff's department. How in the name of sweet reason could Ms. Pena
have been arrested, shackled and charged
 with "fleeing and eluding" when she was driving 17 miles under the
speed limit?
And how, in the face of such official excess, could State's Attorney
Scott Rolle
 defend those officers? Ms. Pena didn't deserve to be treated like a
dangerous felon.
The danger that existed came from the other side. 

                             � Copyright 1998 The Washington Post
Company

Too Fast For Conditions (Was: Re: Aggressive Driving)

#1233

Author: Scott M. Kozel
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 00:00

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E. Faubion <in@the.sig> wrote:
> 
> Dennis.Jensen@dwt.csiro.au (Dennis Jensen) wrote:
> 
> >Also, Cirillo, J.A. Interstate system accident research....... Public Roads
> >(1968) 35 (3) 71-75. Hope that helps.
> 
> 1968?  Gee, there's nothing like recent data.  But I will look them up
> if I can find them and see just how valid they are in 1998.   Sounds
> like fun.

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Monday, July 6, 1998
http://www.gatewayva.com/rtd/virginiaapwire/e1495.htm

"BUCHANAN, Va. (AP) -- A car carrying a young couple and four children
skidded across Interstate 81 in heavy rain and into the path of a fuel
tanker traveling in the opposite direction, killing all six in the car
and the truck driver".

According to state police, the southbound Honda was passing another
vehicle around 5:15 p.m. during a downpour when it appeared to
hydroplane, crossed the median and slid into the northbound lanes, where
the truck carrying diesel fuel hit it broadside.  The truck pushed the
car about 200 feet before both vehicles plunged through a gap between
I-81's northbound and southbound overpasses. The two vehicles fell about
100 feet through the gap onto U.S. 11 below.

A tragic example of driving too fast for conditions.  :-[

-- 
Scott M. Kozel    kozelsm@richmond.infi.net  
Highway and Transportation History Websites  
Virginia/Maryland/Washington D.C. http://www.richmond.infi.net/~kozelsm
PHL area http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Campus/5961/pennways.html

Re: Speeding, Tailgating, and Reckless Driving

#1235

Author: Scott M. Kozel
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 00:00

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Gumbyy@ticnet.com (Marc) wrote:
> 
> "Scott M. Kozel" <kozelsm@richmond.infi.net> wrote:
> >
> >That would be determined by consulting your state vehicular legal code.
> >Perhaps you could consult your lawyer do help determine this.
> 
> Perhaps, since you know it would becomse tailgating, you could let us
> know when it would be in your area.

What is it in your area?

-- 
Scott M. Kozel    "The Virginia Highwayman"   kozelsm@richmond.infi.net  
Highway and Transportation History Websites  
Virginia/Maryland/Washington D.C. http://www.richmond.infi.net/~kozelsm
PHL area http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Campus/5961/pennways.html

Re: Aggressive Driving

#1242

Author: E. Faubion
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 00:00

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"Scott M. Kozel" <kozelsm@richmond.infi.net> wrote:

>Richmond Times-Dispatch, Monday, July 6, 1998
>http://www.gatewayva.com/rtd/virginiaapwire/e1495.htm

>"BUCHANAN, Va. (AP) -- A car carrying a young couple and four children
>skidded across Interstate 81 in heavy rain and into the path of a fuel
>tanker traveling in the opposite direction, killing all six in the car
>and the truck driver".

Tragic indeed.   In Kansas this weekend a crash also killed seven.

>A tragic example of driving too fast for conditions.  :-[

That's how it looks.

What's funny is that if we abolish speed limits as many would like to
do then the Basic Speed Law is all we have left and each individual
driver will decide for his/herself what is best.  I'm willing to bet
the driver of the Honda in this crash thought his speed was reasonable
and prudent at the time too. 

efaubion@oklahoma.net
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/6123/

Re: Aggressive Driving

#1250

Author: Brian Varine
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 00:00

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E. Faubion wrote:
> 
> "Scott M. Kozel" <kozelsm@richmond.infi.net> wrote:
> 
> >Richmond Times-Dispatch, Monday, July 6, 1998
> >http://www.gatewayva.com/rtd/virginiaapwire/e1495.htm
> 
> >"BUCHANAN, Va. (AP) -- A car carrying a young couple and four children
> >skidded across Interstate 81 in heavy rain and into the path of a fuel
> >tanker traveling in the opposite direction, killing all six in the car
> >and the truck driver".
> 
> Tragic indeed.   In Kansas this weekend a crash also killed seven.
> 
> >A tragic example of driving too fast for conditions.  :-[
> That's how it looks.
> 
> What's funny is that if we abolish speed limits as many would like to
> do then the Basic Speed Law is all we have left and each individual
> driver will decide for his/herself what is best.  I'm willing to bet
> the driver of the Honda in this crash thought his speed was reasonable
> and prudent at the time too.

Yeah, but who knows, he was probably under the 65 limit so hey, he
wasn't breaking any laws (or so he thought) and he wasn't speeding. 

Let's see, cops can cite for driving too fast for conditions even though
the victim may have been under the limit. But hey, going 80 in a 65 is
NEVER legal. Seems pretty stupid.