Damariscotta Selectman Robin Mayer wants the town’s police officers to write more speeding tickets and give fewer warnings.
“Why are we warning people?” Mayer said at a Jan. 15 meeting of the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen. “We ought to be citing people (for) speeding. That’s what’s going to get people to stop speeding.”
“I think, in light of the continuing complaints I hear regarding speeding around town, something has to be done,” Mayer said.
The department could announce the change of tack to the community through the newspaper and the department’s Facebook page, Mayer said. The department could say “we’re going to crack down on speeders, because of the complaints … and then crack down,” she said.
The selectman does not expect special treatment.
“Believe me, if he catches me speeding on Bristol Road, give me a ticket,” Mayer said. “A warning is not going to do anything.”
Damariscotta Police Chief Ron Young was not at the meeting. Later, in an interview, he talked about his philosophy regarding tickets and warnings.
“Each situation is going to be different,” Young said. “If I pull you over today and give you a warning for 4 (mph) over, that’s my discretion.”
“I don’t want to take that discretion away from officers,” Young said. “I think they’re all intelligent enough to make a good decision based on the circumstances.”
Some departments have a policy to write tickets for certain infractions, such as speeding 10 mph or more over the limit. Young prefers a more flexible standard that allows an officer to consider a variety of factors, such as the time of day, traffic and the condition of the road.
For example, an officer would likely write a ticket for speeding in a school zone with children present, even if the driver was only going 5 mph over the limit.
In many other situations, a warning can be just as effective as a ticket, both for the driver and all the drivers who witness the traffic stop. “I think most people would agree with me that warnings do work,” Young said.
“I think everybody deserves a warning,” Young said. “Everybody, at one point or another, would probably be happy to have a second chance.”
The chief’s philosophy of discretion does not diminish the attention the department pays to speed enforcement.
“The radar in our vehicles is on all the time,” Young said. The department also conducts daily speed details in areas where it receives a high number of complaints, like Bristol Road and Church Street, and in the school zone on Main Street.
The department also has an electronic speed limit sign, which has the capacity to collect data about speed. The department has had some issues with the sign, but hopes to use it as an effective tool to target its enforcement efforts going forward.
