Speeding drivers put pedestrians, themselves at risk
Sheriff says limited resources root of problem, despite more promising statistics
By Harrison Keely EDITOR

It was only a few years ago but Julian Highsmith remembers the accident as if it took place yesterday.

A pickup truck appeared suddenly on the bridge at Walker Rd., careening from one lane to the other, speeding toward Highsmith at breakneck speed.

Highsmith had no choice. He swerved, slammed his brakes, and hurtled off the bridge, colliding with the bed of a creek below.

His truck demolished, Highsmith ended up paying a $900 wrecking fee to retrieve its remains from the culvert.

Not too long later Highsmith received a bill in the mail for the cost to repair the bridge.

That was the last straw.

Frustrated, Highsmith contacted the state troopers to explain his side of the story. The troopers, he said, simply explained that drivers in the region had become used to that kind of behavior on the road.

"I made up my mind then that next time they'll hit me head on," Highsmith said. "I won't swerve."

Determined to see a higher level of traffic enforcement in Clay County, Highsmith brought his case to the county commissioners Friday, July 3.

He pointed to the lack of officers in the area, stating that the Highway Patrol only has two people on shift at a time in Clay County.

"Somebody's got to take up the ball and do somthing sometime or somebody's going to be killed," he told the commis- sioners.

Highsmith, a shop owner in Brasstown, said that the roads in that part of the county specifically were in need of more enforcement.

"There isn't a week that goes by that somebody doesn't get hit crossing the road," he said.

Old U.S. Hwy. 64 has a posted speed limit of 20 miles per hour through Brasstown. About half of all traffic in that area, however, travels upwards of 60 miles pr hour, Highsmith said.

Highsmith told the commissioners that before Joe Shook became sheriff he paid him a visit, sat in his living room, and spoke frankly about the grants, equipment and enforcement he was going to bring to the area as a solution to the danger.

Two weeks later, Highsmith said, an article ran in the newspaper stating that the sheriff's job focused on the court and jail, the school and serving papers.

"In most of the counties in North Carolina the sheriff' s department does traffic enforcement," Highsmith said. "Those that don't [usually] have a county police force. So maybe that's what we need if the sheriff's department doesn't want to take on that job."

Commissioner Hub Cheeks explained that the problem lay in finances.

"We have similar situations around the county," he said. "We have limited resources."

Sheriff Shook defended the work of his office.

"We work in Brasstown all the time," he said. "The sheriff's offices' primary job is not speed enforcement."

Shook said that deputies caught three drunk drivers just the night before, one in Brasstown.

Last year, Shook said, a Highway Patrol officer went to Brasstown and wrote 40 tickets in just two days. None of the tickets, however, were for speeding.

Shook said that troopers wrote over 2,800 tickets in Clay County last year.

C.L. McMahan, district first sergeant for the state's five western counties, accompanied the sheriff and provided more detailed statistics on traffic enforcement.

McMahan said that the four men assigned to work under him in Clay County are collision-driven.

"Our goal is to reduce collisions and make it safe for the people of this county," he said. "In the last 18 months we've had 18 collisions on [Old Hwy. 64, but] no fatalties."

The year before that there were 26 accidents recorded on the road, he said. In the past year alone there have been 91 accidents in the county with no fatalities. The year before that saw three road deaths and 147 accidents. That was a 30 percent decrease in collisions, he said.

"To be honest, I feel pretty good that there are three more people here who may not have been," Mc- Mahan said, noting the lack of recent fatalities.

Last year the highway patrol made 169 contacts on Old Hwy. 64,

He said that the patrol policy is not to issue technical or frivolous citations.

Highsmith was not content with the statistics, stating that he planned on taking pictures of speed limit violators.

"The sheriff's office or police department needs to take some responsibility..." he reiterated. "One of the shopkeepers almost got hit last week. Th lady finally slowed down enough to roll down her window and cuss her out for crossing the road.... It's dangerous."

"I think the patrol does as good a job as it can do," Cheeks responded. "They're limited."

Cheeks said he's seen patrol cars in the Brasstown area but understands they can't always be there.

"More people are killed by speeders than they are for not wearing a seatbelt," Highsmith said.

Shook said that it costs around $80,000 to put a deputy on the road at today's costs, considering the cost of a patrol car, insurance and other expenses like social security.

"I didn't ask for any new deuties this year because I knew the county couldn't afford it," he said. "We'd like to have 12 road deputies, it would make a difference in the county... but the resources just arent' there."

Shook said that the county did not have any speed timing devices.

Highsmith suggested using available grant money to purchase the necessary equipment. Cheeks said that the county had received some fairly large grants.

Shook said the recent grants, one for $75,000 and another for $52,000 were intended for drug enforcement measures. County Manager Paul Leek said that another grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Program had allocated another $20,073 for traffic safety programs.

Shook said that considering the day to day operations of his office, checking stations were the most effective way to patrol violations.

Commissioner Harry Jarrett said that the county once asked the department of transportation for a caution stoplight in Brasstown at the Settawig Rd. intersection.

"I think we ought to write another letter," he said. Leek said he would contact the DOT on the issue. Highsmith said he was told that the state was unable to place a crosswalk on a state highway.

Local resident Robin Bryan said he was sure that speeding problems occur in more places than Brasstown.

Bryan suggested erecting signs with flashing lights to notify motorists when they've exceeded the speed limit.

"I think people would pay attention to that," he said.

McMahan said the closest thing he had was a radar trailer.

Sheriff Shook said that if the county used a radar to write tickets to people traveling over 20 or 30 miles per hour in certain zones, "people [would be] scrawling like a mashed cat."

Shook said he asks officers to stop at Clay's Corner on occasion to let people see the patrol car.

Jarrett asked if there was a "congested area" sign on the road into Brasstown.

"No," Shook replied. "It's always been a problem down there in Brasstown. I've dealt with it for 30 years."

Placing radars inside patrol cars would turn deputies into speed cops and distract them from what they need to be doing, Shook said. In the end it boiled down to the amount of resources and people available.

By the numbers:

• 80,000 Estimated amount of dollars it takes to put another officer in the county.

• 2,800 Tickets written by troopers in Clay County last year.

• 147 Collisions in Clay County in 2006

• 91 Collisions in Clay County in the last 18 months

• 12 Road deputies Sheriff Joe Shook said the county would like to have.

• 3 Clay County highway fatalities in the last 30 months

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