 |
| Braddock Supervisor John Cook (left) speaks at kick-off of anti-speeding campaign. |
Fairfax County supervisors, Fairfax County Police Department officials, and leaders of community associations and Neighborhood Watch groups gathered at the FCPD driver training facility in Chantilly for the kick-off of the “Slow Down: You Live Here. We Live Here” campaign.
The Police Department is purchasing eight radar messaging signs that will be deployed across the county at spots where a lot of drivers tend to exceed the speed limit. The devices will let drivers know how fast they are going, with the objective of encouraging them to slow down.
The campaign also includes a neighborhood toolkit with yard signs and public service videos. Attendees at today’s event participated in a series of demonstrations illustrating the impact of speed and distance on a driver’s response time – and how difficult it is to avoid hitting a child or animal in the road when a driver is speeding.
According to the findings of a survey of county residents, 80 percent of respondents believe speed is a problem in their neighborhood, 80 percent are worried about speeding cars striking children, and 74 percent want the police the stop more speeders in their neighborhood.
According to roadway speed calculations by FCPS, there are places on local roads where well over 50 of motorists were traveling more than 10 mph over posted speed limits.
“This is about making our neighborhoods safer,” said Braddock Supervisor John Cook, who spearheaded the anti-speeding campaign in response to concerns from Braddock residents. “We are hoping for voluntary compliance with speed and traffic laws, as well as a better understanding of how we can work together to combat neighborhood speeding.”