• Tweet

• Tweet

Imagine university police hovering over a bicyclist’s body lying limp on blood-spattered asphalt.

A disturbing scene, this could have been the case if UPD were not more strongly enforcing the speed limit around campus.

With an increase of speeders around campus in the last six months, UPD took action and assigned additional officers to handle traffic flow and enforce speeding laws, Traffic Officer Gus Carlson said.

This is important especially since offenders receive a Florida citation, not just a citation from the university.

It’s about time UPD started enforcing these speeding laws. Speeding is a serious issue, and offenders should actually be punished instead of slowing down momentarily only to pass an empty police car.

Quite frequently, there is a police car parked at the entrance of campus, making students think an officer is waiting inside, ready to turn around and pull over anyone who is speeding.

But more often than not, the car is empty, leaving students wondering what UPD is actually doing with its time.

This scene has changed in the course of the past month.

Now, officers are in their cars and are pulling people over multiple times a week. And a radar device has been placed at the Kernan entrance, notifying drivers if they are speeding and reminding them to drive safely.

Although students might not like the increased possibility of being pulled over, the result of taking the laws seriously is a positive thing for everyone at UNF.

That is why the law was there in the first place.

With a speed limit of 30 or 35 mph, campus can be safe for not only vehicles, but people walking, riding bicycles or skateboarding.

If the limit was higher, it would start to get risky using a mode of transportation other than a car, which is what was happening before the speed limit was strongly enforced.

This is not only a concern for those with slower modes of transportation, but also the wildlife around campus.

UNF is on a nature reserve, and it should be respected and treated as such for the welfare of every living thing on campus.

Plus, slowing down will only ensure getting to class on time, as chances of a delay because of an accident are much more likely when speeding than when obeying the speed limit.

UPD is really taking steps in the right direction to fix the campus speeding problem by recent stronger law enforcement.

This, combined with the DUI enforcement and the “Click it or Ticket” program, encourages safe driving and brings us one step closer to a worry-free traffic environment.