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In just 12 days, Youngstown police issued civil penalties for speeding to 1,000 people
YOUNGSTOWN
In only the first 12 days of having new radar guns, the city police department is prepared to mail civil fines to 1,000 people for violating speeding laws.
In comparison, the city issued 960 speeding tickets all of last year and 1,050 in all of 2013.
After a 30-day warning period, city police officers started using handheld radar guns Aug. 15 in school zones and on highways. Rather than being pulled over by an officer and given a moving-violation ticket with a fine and points on their driving record, those caught with the radar guns will be mailed a civil fine.
“The efficiency of [officers] not having to stop people is great,” police Chief Robin Lees said Thursday. “As the tickets go out, we expect behavior modifications and for people to slow down. We’ve been surprised at the volume and the number of people who are speeding. We won’t change our enforcement. We expect people to slow down.”
Youngstown has a three-year deal with Optotraffic of Lanham, Md., that calls for the city to keep 65 percent of the fee with the company getting 35 percent.
Speeders face civil penalties – $100 for those driving up to 13 mph over the speed limit, $125 for 14 to 19 mph over the limit, and $150 for those driving at least 20 mph over the limit.
In those 12 days, if those people cited paid the minimum fine, $100,000 in fines would result.
Of the 1,000 citations, 150 were in school zones, Lees said. The school year in Youngstown started Monday.
The rest of the citations are on state Route 711 and on Interstate 680 between South Avenue and Meridian Road, where the speed limit is 50 mph, Lees said.
“That’s where we have most of our highway accidents, and they’re generally speed-related,” the chief said.
Mayor John A. McNally said, “It’s very evident that travel on 680 and 711 continues to move real quick even with a cushion built in,” referring to motorists not being cited for going a few miles over the speed limit.
“If you’re driving on 680, 711 or in school zones, you need to slow down quickly,” he said. “That’s the most-important thing as 680 and 711 have a history of traffic accidents because of speeding.”
When asked if the citations are a “money grab” by the city, McNally said, “I don’t have a thought on that. There’s a fine, but we look at it as a safety issue.”
The citations will be mailed shortly with the option for an administrative appeal for those who want to challenge the fee, Lees said.
Those objecting will have to wait as the city has given those wanting to be the city’s hearing officer until Sept. 4 to submit their qualifications. Lees said it shouldn’t take long to select an officer.
BEGGING LAW REVISIONS
Meanwhile, after stopping enforcement of the city’s begging ordinance over constitutional issues, the law department is proposing a new law restricting when, where and how a person can “solicit.”
The proposed ordinance, which council will consider at its Sept. 16 meeting, would prohibit someone from asking for “money, goods or any form of gratuity from another person” in a public place after sunset and before sunrise.
It would also be illegal to solicit in a public transportation vehicle, at a bus or train stop, to a person in a vehicle as well as those entering or leaving a vehicle, and on private property unless the solicitor has permission from the owner.
The proposal also restricts soliciting within 3 feet of a person, blocking the path of a person, following a person, and soliciting in an aggressive manner.
If council approves the proposal, it would also make it illegal to make a “false or misleading representation” such as lying about asking for a donation to meet a need that doesn’t exist, claiming to be homeless, stranded or disabled when the solicitor isn’t.
“This strikes a balance between free-speech rights and preventing people from feeling harassed or threatened,” said Nicole Billec, an assistant law director who wrote the proposed ordinance. “Time and place restrictions are acceptable. But if we ban or make it too broad, it would be struck down by the court.”
A first-time conviction is a minor misdemeanor, which carries the potential of a fine of up to $150 and no jail time. Any additional convictions within a year from a prior violation of the ordinance would become a fourth-degree misdemeanor. That carries a maximum jail sentence of 30 days and up to a $250 fine.
The city’s anti-begging ordinance was challenged in June by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, which demanded the city repeal it. An ordinance, approved Oct. 7, 2009, made it a crime to “beg for money or other things of value.”
City Law Director Martin Hume agreed with the ACLU that the ordinance was “too broad” and “unconstitutional,” and on June 5 – the same day The Vindicator published an article about the ACLU objection – had the city police department stop enforcing the law.