To the Editor:

Speeding and aggressive driving escalated during the pandemic. The increasing number of vehicles on the roadways has made driving more dangerous than ever. Being tailgated, being passed in no passing zones, dodging vehicles running red lights and four way intersections, all make getting to work or to the grocery store a Mario Kart experience. Police can only do so much to deter speeding and reckless driving. Why not allow officers to use radar to ticket speedsters electronically? Driving 45 in a 25? Receive a ticket in the mail. Police should not have to risk their lives to deliver roadside tickets.

Speeding and aggressive driving is a choice and a habit. Penalties need to be greater for those who make the roadways unsafe. Read the following.

From The Newtown Bee, Friday, July 19, 2024, Way We Were, originally published July 15, 1949, in “Editorial Ink Drops — Speeding Is Not For Country Roads”:

“It recently came to our attention that the residents on some roads in the rural districts of Newtown are bothered and considerably concerned over the speed at which automobiles are driven past their homes.

“One such stretch of road exists in Taunton district and the people who live along that road, we have learned, have just cause for complaint.

“There is a constant campaign, by police, in the press, and by other means, to discourage excessive speeds on our state highways.

“If the number of accidents and deaths over Fourth of July weekend is any indication, the campaign is not entirely successful.

“We are at a loss to know just what tactics can be taken to prevent dangerously fast traffic in front of country homes. …There is no excuse for the dangerous habit of speedy locomotion which seems to have spread from main highways to make particular victims of the good people in Taunton who like their peace and quiet and should be allowed to enjoy them in safety.”

Melinda Reynolds

Newtown