Electronic speed limit signs being spread around Clinton

By Randy Bell

Every city has speeders. But Police Chief Ford Hayman says the problem in Clinton isn’t “super serious,” and he has the data to back up his assessment.

Drivers may not realize that the electronic speed limit signs installed across the city do more than flash their speed as they pass by. They also collect data on how many motorists are speeding – and how fast they’re going.

Hayman says the typical speeder in Clinton is no more than ten miles an hour over the posted limit.

“We don’t have what I call ‘racetrack conditions,’” said Hayman.

Clinton police have had the electronic signs since July of 2021.

“We bought six of them,” the chief says. “And we try to spread them around in each ward.” Hayman says they seem to be working.

“We kind of get numb to the speed limit signs. We don’t see them anymore. We drive right past them.” But he says the electronic signs get motorists’ attention. “To have a flashing speed, something that catches your eye, just makes you go, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize I was speeding. Let me slow down.’ So, that’s really the purpose behind these signs, just raising awareness.”
Hayman says he gets plenty of complaints about speeding, and the police department can use an electronic sign to determine the extent of the problem.

“We encourage anybody who believes they have a [speeding] problem to let us know,” said Hayman. “And we’re glad to come out there and put a sign up for a week or two, and let’s capture the data and look at it.”

But he says the signs are not intended to replace what a police officer can do to slow traffic down. Even though CPD’s traffic division was temporarily discontinued because of a lack of personnel, patrol officers are often assigned to radar details in trouble spots across the city.

Hayman is hoping to have enough officers by mid-summer to reactivate the traffic division, designating “at least two or three people” for traffic enforcement. The chief says those officers will be able to use the data from the electronic signs to determine where they need to be, while freeing up the patrol officers to spend more time on their beats.

“We want to address anybody’s complaint of speeding,” Hayman said. “We take them all seriously. And I want to cut down on [speeding] and make our roadways safer. But I also think it’s a pretty good problem to have. If my chief complaint here at the police department is speeders, we’re doing a pretty good job; because that means people’s houses and businesses are not getting broken into.”

Clinton police have also started writing tickets lately for illegal parking along the city’s brick streets. Recently, some new parking spaces were added along Monroe, Jefferson and other streets in Olde Towne. Curbs have been painted gray where parking is authorized, but Hayman says some drivers aren’t paying attention.

“There’s some yellow curbs and signage up that says ‘no parking,’” said Hayman. Some people are parking in those areas and receiving tickets.

The chief says it also matters which way a vehicle is pointed when it’s parked in a street-side space – it should be on the side of the road that allows a motorist to pull out into the flow of traffic.

“You don’t park against traffic,” Hayman reminds drivers. “That’s a hazard. That causes you to re-enter the roadway having to cross oncoming traffic. We’re issuing tickets for that.”
Hayman also says vehicles should be parked no more than twelve inches from the curb. “You can’t park out there in the middle of traffic.”