Readers weigh Southern State Parkway solutions

I read your editorial “Safety now on Southern State” [Opinion, April 10], then read a reader’s adjacent letter “Stiffen fines for texting drivers all year.”

I wonder how many motorists are getting any fines at all. I see no visible police cars anywhere. I drive a lot but can’t remember the last time I saw a car pulled over by police. Not only on highways but also on smaller but well-traveled roads like Jericho Turnpike and Route 25A, and cars are still speeding all around me.

A recent storm felled a tree across my road. It was a holiday, and the town office was closed so I called 911. Five police cars showed up within minutes. While I was grateful for their assistance, I wondered how so many cars were available to answer this minor occurrence.

It seems to me that if police were assigned to the parkways and streets, the texting, speeding and weaving in and out would be greatly reduced without expensive speed cameras [“Southern State safety,” News, April 6].

My dad always said, “Nothing like police on the roads to slow down traffic.”

— Judy Hanson, Fort Salonga

I grew up in Melville and now live in California. Every few months, I visit my parents here. Recently, my dad picked me up at Kennedy Airport, and we took the Southern State Parkway home. It was the same old story.

Cars zipping in and out at obscene speeds as if they are in an arcade game with the goal to drive as fast as possible.

This night was the final straw. We were cruising in the middle lane at 60 miles per hour when a reckless driver sideswiped us on the driver’s side. There was a horrific sound as our car was jolted.

My dad, shocked, yelled, “We’ve been hit! Someone hit us!” Calmly, I guided my dad to the next exit to survey the damage. Naturally, the reckless driver had sped off.

Luckily, the damage wasn’t too bad, and we arrived home safely. If the  other car had been one inch closer to us, we very well could have been taken to the intensive care unit of the closest hospital — or been killed.

This craziness must stop. Why something hasn’t been done about these reckless drivers is insanity. Drastic, immediate action must be taken now.

— Darren Levene, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Speed cameras can only do so much. Look at the two examples that Newsday’s editorial cites: underage drivers in stolen SUVs and a driver veering off the road and hitting a tree.

No number of cameras or threat of high fines will deter people who shouldn’t be driving or those who just have lousy driving skills.

— Joe Cesare, Copiague

I think we can all agree that drivers speeding on the Southern State Parkway present a risk to both the driver and others.

However, there is a greater and more common risk — cars cruising at only 45 to 50 miles per hour, often in the middle or left lane. Will the proposed speed cameras also ticket these dangerous drivers?

I learned that if you can’t keep up with traffic flow, drive in the right lane, and if you can’t keep up because you are afraid, get off the road.

— Gerard Sewell, West Babylon

The parkways can be patrolled more effectively. It seems silly to see a state trooper’s car parked on the side of the road, waiting for something to happen.

Instead, have a police officer cruising in an unmarked vehicle. How many times have you driven on the parkways and had a speeding automobile race past you, then weave through lanes without even signaling?

Other times, drivers seem to be racing and weaving with another vehicle at excessive speeds. If an officer in an unmarked vehicle, after observing dangerous and illegal driving, pursued and caught these drivers, this would be a warning to others to reconsider such reckless driving and would likely curtail such behavior.

So, where do we get these unmarked cars? How about autos impounded for various violations and auctioned to the public? Use these vehicles for patrolling. This would save money instead of purchasing unmarked cars.

— Mike Scirica, Amityville

Instead of speed cameras on the Southern State Parkway between the city line and western Suffolk County, I recommend the State Police consider reopening the state trooper barracks along the parkway in Valley Stream.

— William Seward, West Islip

I favor speed cameras on the Southern State Parkway but not the “gotcha” kind like our current red-light cameras [“Put police on parkways — then try cameras,” Letters, April 9].

The speed cameras should be visible with obvious signage. They will certainly improve safety and catch reckless speeders. I think most people can deal with cameras if they are not surprised by them.

— Robert Cheeseman, Wantagh