DERRY BOROUGH, Pa. — The speeding fine in Derry Borough has been $10 for decades, according to Borough Solicitor Lee Demosky.
“According to the history, it appears that this section hasn’t been updated since the 1970s,” Demosky told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.
That could soon be changing.
The Borough Council gave the solicitor the green light to write a new ordinance to bring the borough up to date.
That fine would increase from $10 to a base fine of $35.
Once you’re driving five miles over the speed limit, an additional $2 per mile over will be added to your fine.
So, if you’re driving 40 mph in a 30 mph zone, that fine would be $45.
On a road with a 65 mph speed limit, the base fine would be $42.50, with the same add-ons.
“Borough council is trying to promote safety in the borough,” Demosky said. “We have a very active committee in the borough that looked at this issue, and determined that they wanted to try and promote safety for pedestrians in the borough as much as possible.”
Some who live in Derry think the increased fines for speeding would make people slow down.
“I think it would help, yeah,” said Amy Jo Serrao. “I think it would help a lot. The speeding around here, sometimes, in certain places, certain times, it all depends.”
But she and another person who spoke to Channel 11 worry that people in the borough might not be able to afford a higher fine.
“I would say no higher,” Serrao said. “I wouldn’t go any higher than that.”
“I think it’s just going to hurt the poorer families who live here more, and it’s not really going to do much to help the borough pay for things, nor nearly as much as it would be to justify it,” added another resident who wished to remain anonymous.
The solicitor said he will write the ordinance, and then it will have a public hearing and the council will likely vote on it in August.
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