Tackling dangerous driving in the city of Middletown. The police chief took questions from the public Monday night about new speed cameras that are being considered by the city.
Tackling dangerous driving in the city of Middletown. The police chief took questions from the public Monday night about new speed cameras that are being considered by the city.
“Since the pandemic, or even before that, people’s driving habits seem to have deteriorated,” Jon Morris, of Middletown, said.
Morris has seen his fair share of dangerous driving in Middletown.
“Multiple times I have seen people go through red lights and there have been serious accidents, and it makes me angry to see that happen,” he said.
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To address this, the city will be installing speed cameras at a few high traffic intersections.
During a public meeting on Monday, Middletown Police Chief Erik Costa answered questions about how the cameras would work. He made it clear people need to slow down to prevent bad crashes.
“It’s senseless. A lot of times, it’s stuff that can be prevented,” Costa said.
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Fines will start at $50 for the first citation and $75 for any after that.
Costa said the cameras are meant to prevent accidents; not generate revenue. He hopes this will send a message about road safety, especially to young drivers.
“We build that culture in our young people as well because we don’t want that loss of life,” Costa said.
Morris said he agrees with the cameras and hopes this leads to safer driving in Middletown.
“Maybe this’ll put it in their minds that they have to slow down,” he said.
No one who spoke at Monday’s meeting was against bringing these cameras to the city. The Middletown Common Council still needs to do final approval of the plan.
Costa said the hope is that’ll happen next month, with the goal of having the cameras up and running by June 1.
