The Worthington Police Department is rolling out a new program to help control speeding within the town to keep residents and visitors safe.

The Vehicle Speed Enforcement Team (VSET) project aims to enforce speeding through different patrol tactics. Worthington Police Department Chief Jacob Gambill said the department will be stepping up its enforcement of speeding. Drivers who fail to follow the posted speed limits will be met with stiffer enforcement efforts including less leniency regarding citations. If drivers speed, they should expect to receive a citation.

Much like previous Operation Pullover patrols, the department will be conducting VSET saturation patrols.

“We will advertise the dates of the patrols in advance by informing the public at the town board meeting, on our Facebook page, and we will look into adding as a note on residents' sewer bills,” Gambill said. “During the saturation patrols, we will not issue warnings.”

Speeding has become a concern in the community.

“If not at every town meeting, at a majority of them someone is complaining about speeding,” Gambill said, noting the speed limit entering town is as high as 50; however, it drops to as low as 30 through the business district.

The department received a grant from the Smithville Foundation for radar speed signs, which will be placed on each side of the business district and on Old Terre Haute Road where the road turns into a city street.

“The goal of this program is that we make progress in controlling the speed of residents and visitors of Worthington,” Gambill said. “The VSET program and the radar speed signs will work hand in hand to aid us in reaching our goal.”

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2023 Speeding Slows You Down Fact Sheet:

Speeding fatalities have continued to increase over the past few years, rising a dramatic 17% from 2019 to 2020 and another estimated 5% from 2020 to 2021. Even advancements in vehicle safety and passenger protection cannot keep people safe from the dangers of speeding.
Local roads are more dangerous than highways for speeders: In 2020, 87% of all speeding-related traffic fatalities on American roads occurred on non-interstate roadways.
In 2020, speeding was involved in 37% of the fatal crashes in construction or maintenance zones.
While drivers of all ages may exceed posted speed limits, young people are most likely to be involved in speeding-related fatal crashes. In 2020, 27% of males ages 18-44 and 16% of females ages 18-44 involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash. However, the relative proportion of speeding-related crashes to all crashes declines with increasing driver age.
Speeding can reduce a driver’s ability to negotiate curves or maneuver around obstacles in the roadway, extends the distance traveled before a vehicle can stop, and increases the distance a vehicle travels while the driver reacts to a hazard. Speeding can also increase the risk of crashes and injuries because other vehicles and pedestrians may not be able to judge distance correctly.