Speeding on U.S. 11E Might Get Pricier

BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – Speeding down U.S. 11E could get a lot more treacherous if two plans being considered by city officials go into effect.

At its Thursday meeting, the Bluff City Board of Mayor and Aldermen discussed a new ordinance that would raise the cost of a speeding ticket to $123.50, including fines and court costs. Board members also talked about installing speed cameras along the highway that could be used to issue traffic citations through the mail.

“People who adhere to the limit don’t need to worry,” Mayor Todd Malone said.

The Bluff City Police Department patrols a 3.6 mile section of U.S. 11E that runs through the city limits. About 36,000 vehicles travel that section of highway each day, Police Chief David Nelson said.

An investigation conducted by the Herald Courier staff this spring found that between July 1, 2007, and Jan. 31, 2008, the city’s 10 police officers issued 306 speeding tickets on that portion of the highway. That’s more tickets per mile of highway than both the Bristol Tennessee and Johnson City Police Departments issued on their stretches of U.S. 11E during the same time period, according to the investigation.

Bristol police issued 626 tickets on their 10.9 miles of 11E, while Johnson City’s officers gave out 17 tickets on the 2.5 miles of 11E they patrol in Sullivan County.
Nelson said the high number of people who speed down the highway is the main reason his officers issue so many tickets.

During a three-day period at the end of October, officers placed a portable trailer that monitors driver speed along the highway. Nelson said 53 percent of the people who passed by the trailer were doing more than 5 mph above the limit.

People who are caught speeding in Bluff City pay fines between $59.75 and $79.75 depending on how fast they were going. The fines include a $13.75 state litigation fee, a $6 training fee and $20 in court costs.

“I think the city’s been pretty lenient on fines and we need to bring them back up,” said Nelson, who wasn’t sure how much money the new increases would bring in.

The proposed increase would raise the cost of a ticket to $123.50 regardless of how fast a driver was going. Board members approved the measure at its first reading Thursday and will cast their final votes on the plan in January.

Alderman Don Weaver said he hoped the higher fines would encourage more drivers to obey the speed limit. A number of business owners have complained about the speeders, he said, and have asked him to do something about it.

The issue has taken on a new angle recently because the police department lost two of its officers due to budget cuts and as a result has had to decrease traffic enforcement efforts. Police officers issued only 54 tickets in November, Nelson said. Between July 1, 2007, and Jan. 31, 2008, his officers issued 848 tickets, or about 121 a month.

One way to boost enforcement efforts, Weaver said, would be to install speed cameras along U.S. 11E. The cameras would record how fast cars were going and take a picture of any speeding vehicle’s license plate; the city would then mail a ticket to the vehicle’s owner.

“It would make things a lot safer for the citizens,” Weaver said of the cameras.

He said a number of companies manufacture these camera systems and will install and operate the devices in exchange for a portion of the ticket revenue.

City Attorney Paul Frye said the board would first have to issue a request for proposals asking companies that manage the systems to bid on the project. Board members would then have to draft a resolution spelling out exactly where the cameras would be located, how much they would charge for the tickets and any other details including how much money the company would get on its end.

“If we decide to do this,” Malone said, “we need to let everyone know [that the cameras] are out there.”

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