Good going! I think this is a great idea. I happen to be one of those annoying people on our roads that really try to abide by the speed limit. It is a difficult thing to maintain the slower speed limits, especially when cars are constantly running up your rear-end. The most difficult speed limit to keep is 25mph. It takes a lot of effort, but it is the law.
Unfortunately, this is not just a problem in Killingworth, it is everywhere! So much so that I have been thinking of designing bumper stickers that say "DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THE SPEED LIMIT IS?" or "Q: WHAT'S THE SPEED LIMIT? A: THE LAW!" or "LAW ABIDING CITIZEN? THEN SLOW DOWN!"
There are other driving problems in Killingworth that need to be addressed along with the speeding issue:
- not yielding to the traffic already in the circle or to your right as you are supposed to do at the traffic circle. People entering the circle from Route 81 towards Clinton are the WORST offenders of this rule. They just fly into the circle like it doesn't exist AND rarely yield to the traffic on their right! Maybe this will be corrected with the re-design of the circle this fall.
- passing in no-passing zones
- right-on-red without coming to a complete stop first thus impeding the traffic that has the right-of-way
- the rolling-stop at stop signs. Also in this category, not stopping AT the stop sign but beyond it so your front end is in the cross traffic lane
- tailgating
- NOT using turn signals
- driving over the center line as if you owned the road
- cutting corners when making turns
People seem to forget (or never knew) that driving is NOT a constitutional right, it is a privilege! Perhaps there need to be stricter rules regarding repeat offenders. Hmmmm, maybe 3 strikes and you lose your license!
And on a couple of other notes:
- I do not believe the speeding has increased with the center lines being painted. I live on Green Hill Road and the speeding & illegal passing has ALWAYS been a problem there. At least the lines let people know when they are in the wrong lane.
- In regards to pedestrian and bicycle traffic: we seem to forget that even though we live in the country, roads were built for vehicular traffic not pedestrians! While pedestrians have every right to be on the roads, they need to be aware of the traffic around them and get out of harm's way by following some simple rules of the road. When walking or running, you should face INTO the traffic and move to the shoulder when a car approaches. When bicycling, you should ride WITH the traffic and follow all the rules of the road a car has to follow. That means stopping at lights and stop signs and using hand-signals when turning. You also have to keep to the right of the road. You do NOT have the right to ride 2 or 3-abreast and not move into SINGLE file when a car is behind you.
- horses on the road: a really beautiful sight. Again, there are rules
both motorists and riders need to follow.
There are great publications listing the laws and rules of the road pertaining to pedestrians and cyclists at http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=1390&q=259670 I suggest we all read it, especially Chapter 3 about safety! And a good place to find some rules for horses and cars is http://www.ct.gov/dmv/cwp/view.asp?a=805&q=308346&dmvPNavCtr=%7C
Drive safely!
Margaret Tobelman