CLAY TOWNSHIP — The Clay Township Police Department is installing 15 new signs to deter drivers from exceeding speed limits on rural roads.
This initiative comes as the department has recently stopped drivers traveling as fast as 127 miles per hour and 97 miles per hour in the area.
The new signs were secured through the All Traffic Solutions Give-Back Program as authorities work to address persistent speeding issues in the township.
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Resident Shane Millnickle noted that many people drive fast on these roads.
Millnickle, a Clay Township resident, observes that drivers frequently disregard speed limits. He explained that despite his own adherence to the speed limit, he is often passed by other vehicles on the interstate.
“I do the speed limit. I’m getting older, I’m not in a rush. People constantly pass me on the interstate,” Millnickle said.
He also pointed out the danger of speeding in open areas. “They get in these open areas and straight aways and hammer down, and there’s a lot of fatalities out here.”
Millnickle recounted a past incident where he nearly caused a head-on collision due to distracted driving, an experience that changed his habits. “I typed in LOL once, and I looked up, I about hit someone head-on. And that was 15 years ago. I don’t get on my phone anymore,” he stated.
David Birk, chief of the Clay Township Police Department, confirmed the severity of the speeding problem. He reported that an officer recently stopped a driver going 127 miles per hour and another at 97 miles per hour.
Chief Birk also highlighted the lack of existing speed signs on some township roads. “Unfortunately, in a small township, we don’t have many speed signs on some of the township roads,” Birk said.
He described reaching out to the street supervisor to place neighborhood crime signs with the department’s phone number on different roads.
The Police Department plans to use reports generated by these signs to identify precise locations and times when speeding is prevalent on back roads. Millnickle emphasized the importance of cautious driving in the state. “In Ohio, you gotta be a defensive driver,” he said.
The initial signs being installed are neighborhood crime signs.
The radar monitors will be put in place following these neighborhood crime signs.
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