The Delaware State Police campaign on speeding runs June 9 through June 17 on Interstate 95, Interstate 495, US Route 13, US Route 113 and State Route 1. (Delaware State Police)
A campaign against speeding is planned for June on Delaware’s major roads.
Operation Braking Point 2.0 runs June 9 through June 17 on Interstate 95, Interstate 495, US Route 13, US Route 113 and State Route 1.
Delaware State Police calls it a “zero-tolerance, high-visibility traffic safety and enforcement campaign.”
Speeding contributed to one-third of all fatal traffic crashes in 2022, according to the Delaware Office of Highway Safety.
The first Operation Braking Point ran in January on I-95, I-495 and Route 1. “Troopers completed 57 directed patrols during the first Operation Braking Point, resulting in 464 tickets being issued, 270 of which were for speeding,” according to Senior Corporal Leonard DeMalto.
There were 27 traffic fatalities on those three highways last year. Of those fatalities, 37% were speed-related.
For the latest Operational Braking Point, 96 patrol blocks can be worked, with 12 given to each troop, “but it is not guaranteed that each assignment will be filled,” DeMalto said. “These Operation Braking Point patrol blocks will significantly increase the police presence on the aforementioned roadways.”
“Patrols will be conducted with a zero-tolerance approach throughout all hours of the day,” the State Police announcement said.
Electronic signs and boards will remind drivers to slow down or be ticketed.
The campaign also involves police departments from Blades, Delmar, Dover, Milford, Newark, New Castle County, Newport and Selbyville; the state Office of Highway Safety; and the Delaware Department of Transportation.
Delaware had 165 traffic fatalities in 2022, WHYY reported, tying its record and “a level not reached in more than 30 years.”
“The main factors in traffic deaths last year were inattentive, distracted driving and speeding,” WHYY said.
Speeding and other issues
The large number of deaths prompted multiple elected and appointed officials to gather in March at the Delaware Highway Memorial Garden in Smyrna, where 867 bricks carry the names of victims of traffic accidents, WMDT reported.
Gov. John Carney’s page on traffic safety describes various proposals this way:
Establish speeding violation of 90 miles per hour or more as reckless driving (House Bill 120, out of committee May 10 and ready for consideration).
Require all riders to wear a helmet in their first two years of having a motorcycle endorsement (Senate Bill 86, voted out of committee May 16 and on the Ready List).
Ban open containers in passenger vehicles subject to a civil penalty (House Bill 119, voted out of committee April 26 and on the Ready List).
Require drivers to change lanes or reduce their speed while approaching stationary vehicles with lights or flares (House Bill 92, passed May 11 and ready for the governor for action).
Allow state-owned and -operated snow plows to use a revolving or flashing green light.
Expand child safety seat requirements (Senate Bill 68, voted out of committee on May 16 and on the Ready List).
The Ready List is “a compilation of legislation that, if required to go through committee, has been released by committee, and is available to be placed on an agenda for its third and final reading.”
Carney also wants to create an 11-office traffic education and enforcement unit to patrol the roads with the greatest needs.
