New Hampshire Town Announces Major Crackdown on Speeding Drivers

Can you really call it a speed trap when the officers tell you about it in advance? That’s what one Seacoast police department has done, leaving it up to residents to slow down or pay up.

As posted on their official Facebook page, the Exeter Police Department is openly expressing its goal of cracking down on speeding motorists. Per a statement on the department’s Facebook page:

Our officers are always on the lookout for speeding drivers, but starting this week we’ll be stepping up those patrols as part of the 2023 “Speeding Wrecks Lives” speed prevention campaign launched by the New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The Exeter Police Department is one of 92 law enforcement agencies in New Hampshire that received funding from the N.H. Office of Highway Safety to target speeders through increased patrols during the coming weeks. Officers will be focused on several areas in town, including streets that have been identified as trouble spots by callers who have contacted us to raise concerns about speeding vehicles.

You may see officers running radar from within their vehicles or standing outside using a laser speed gun.

The post goes on to note that speeding played a role in the deaths of 241 people in the Granite State between 2017 and 2021. The National Highway Safety Council shared data indicating that 2021 marked a 14-year high for speed-related fatalities.

I’m not sure if it’s people re-learning how to drive post-pandemic, but I’ve seen it (and experienced it) myself. May I also request a crackdown on stopping at stop signs?