When did we become a nation of NASCAR drivers?

In late 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the results of a survey in which over half of the drivers surveyed indicate that speeding is a problem on our nation’s roads. 1 in 5 drivers admit “I try to get where I am going as fast as I can.” National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and Behavior also revealed that more than a quarter of those surveyed “speed without thinking” and “enjoy the feeling of driving fast.”  Just look at any of the interstates around Harrisburg or even some of the daily drives like, Route 22, Linglestown Road, or even the Carlisle Pike. So often, you can witness cars speeding well over the posted limits and jumping between lanes without seemingly little to no care for those around them.

Speeding is dangerous. A history of speeding will have a direct financial impact on your insurance premiums. The easy answer is to encourage you to slow down, but we all often need some encouragement to do so.

One place that speeding seems to run rampant is Front Street, Harrisburg, particularly past Division Street where the roadway becomes one way traffic. This is also the precise area where the City of Harrisburg, along with PennDot, has proposed the creation of a protected bike lane. This will be an outstanding addition to our entire region; we encourage all of the communities that make up South Central Pennsylvania to consider doing the same.

We cannot predict whether the addition of a bike lane to Front Street will unilaterally eliminate speeding (it won’t), but we do hope that it will make drivers more attentive. This is one more positive project for Harrisburg and it does have the potential to make one small part of the city a safer.

So slow down. Take yourself for a bike ride. Don’t have a bike – visit our friends at Pedal Pusher?