When Chief Wendell Watts first came to Gluckstadt, he noticed a lot of traffic congestion and a lot of accidents – caused by speeding and disobeying traffic laws.
As the department got up and running, they decided to write warning tickets to start. They wrote 133 warning tickets and noticed most of them were 15 miles per hour or more above the speed limit. That is when it was time for them to begin writing speeding tickets.
“One of the top four issues in fatalities is speeding,” Watts said. “It is all throughout the United States, but we are a brand new city.”
They needed to focus on speeding because this area used to be under county jurisdiction, which doesn’t run radar, Watts said.
“We can enforce the speeding laws through radar, and that gives us a little bit more of an edge to be able to catch speeders.”
Gluckstadt’s Assistant Chief of Police Barry Hale wants to make it clear that the department is not targeting certain individuals for speeding tickets.
“This is for the safety of all of our citizens in Gluckstadt who are driving, walking or on bikes,” Hale said. “Rumor has it we were out targeting certain people and doing speed traps, but we’re not doing any of that. Our officers are clear and visible when they’re out running radar. They’re not trying to hide behind trees or anything else.”
The biggest problem areas are the congestion of Gluckstadt Road where people get off and get on the interstate and Highway 51, according to Watts.
“Those are your two main arteries that come into the City of Gluckstadt where we have the most speeding,” Watts said.
Other focus areas are near the schools and around Yandell Road.
“Calhoun Parkway is a 35-mile-per-hour speed zone,” Watts said. “These speed zones were set because you’re going into business and residential areas where children are going to be and where a lot of congestion is going to be. The speed limit is there to prevent fatalities, and some people don’t realize that even 10 miles an hour over the speed limit puts people in danger. It’s very unsafe.”
The department has noticed a difference since they have been on the streets enforcing the traffic laws.
“I would probably say our accidents have gone down about 12 percent, which doesn’t sound like a lot but it is from what it was,” Watts said. “On Gluckstadt Road, speeding and accidents have definitely gone down a little bit. We’re still getting some drivers who are pushing that 15 and over, but those are the ones who want to try to get ahead of the traffic that’s in the right-hand lane, trying to get onto the interstate, and then they’ll jump over and pull over in front of somebody, which will cause an accident.”
Watts said almost 30 percent of the nation’s fatalities are due to speeding, which is why this makes this topic so important to him. With so much residential area in and around the city, it is important to crack down on speeding so drivers don’t speed through Gluckstadt and continue in the neighborhoods once they leave city limits.
“If you’re taking the chance and speeding through an area that’s being policed by radar, then odds are you’re speeding through other areas,” Watts said. “Sometimes, just one ticket is enough for people to understand and to not speed.”
