Published: Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008 / Updated: Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008 12:41 AM

Have radar, will ticket

Rock Hill traffic unit's message: Slow down

Traffic officer Ray Hamilton parked his police cruiser atop a slight incline on Dave Lyle Boulevard. He pointed a hand-held radar up the street.

"It can pick up everybody out there," Hamilton said just as a car whizzed by. "It locked in at 54 mph."

Then a cluster of cars drove by, triggering the radar.

"Someone in that pack clocked 61," he said.

Hamilton monitored motorists during morning traffic earlier this month, part of an ongoing police initiative to deter speeding. Several roads, including Dave Lyle Boulevard, have been identified as prime spots where some motorists exceed the speed limit, said Lt. Mike Peek, traffic unit supervisor for the police department.

From May through July, police wrote 122 speeding tickets along Dave Lyle Boulevard -- more than double the number written during the same period last year.

"Dave Lyle has historically been an issue for speeding violations," Peek said. "It's a major traffic corridor. We know we have some motorists flying up and down Dave Lyle."

Once each week for the past four years the traffic unit, comprised of four officers, has monitored speeding on major roads including Dave Lyle and Heckle boulevards, Celanese Road, Herlong Avenue and East Main and Black streets.

"Is everybody getting the message?" Peek said. "Probably not."

To help get the point across, officers are pulling two-hour stints along the busy roads. Sometimes, they stay for four-hour stints or camp out all day, splitting their time on target streets where motorists zoom by, Peek said.

In less than five minutes as Hamilton monitored traffic one day earlier this month, three speeders triggered the radar as they sped up Dave Lyle. Then a bronze Cadillac Deville whipped by at 58 mph.

Hamilton hopped in his car to pursue the speeder. When the driver pulled over, Hamilton asked for the 63-year-old Rock Hill man's driver's license, as well as his car registration and proof of insurance.

"He said he wasn't aware (that he was speeding) and he doesn't drive that car that often," Hamilton said.

The man's ticket could have been $133 and a four-point violation. Instead, Hamilton "cut it back to 54 (mph) in a 45 (speed zone)," to give the motorist a break.

"We're having a lot of problems with accidents out here," Hamilton told the driver. "We really need to slow it down."

Police records show that from July 2007 to July 2008, about 11 percent of all citywide traffic accidents occurred at businesses on Dave Lyle or at an intersection with the busy road.

Minutes later, Hamilton cut a U-turn to catch up with a Time Warner van that sped by.

"Was I speeding?" asked the 38-year-old driver.

"Fifty-seven," Hamilton answered.

"Wow," the driver said.

Back at the police car, Hamilton prepared the man's ticket.

"Most folks are not paying attention or are in a hurry," said Hamilton, who also discovered the van had an expired tag.

The new sticker was on the paperwork. Not having it would have been a $150 ticket in addition to the speeding ticket, Hamilton said.

"Technically, I could give you a citation for this, but I'm not going to," Hamilton told the driver. "It's not your van."

When Hamilton returned to his post, a cluster of vehicles drove by.

"We had several who were over (the speed limit)," he said. "I'm not going to write them (tickets) when I can't articulate who's speeding."

A male motorist topped the hill at 62 mph, but a pack of cars prevented Hamilton's pursuit.

"His lucky day," Hamilton said.

Minutes passed. Then a woman in a white van drove by. The woman was not speeding, but she still caught Hamilton's attention.

"You know why I stopped you?" Hamilton asked the woman.

"No sir," she answered.

"When you came past me back there, you weren't wearing your seat belt," he said. "Is everybody else buckled up?"

Back at the police cruiser, Hamilton noted the latest incident.

"The good thing about this is that it made everyone aware to put their seat belt on," he said. "I asked her if everyone was wearing a seat belt. She said yes. Actually, the one sitting behind her wasn't."

Hamilton gave the 45-year-old Rock Hill woman a $25 ticket before returning to his post. An 18-wheeler rolled by. So did a work van, three SUVs and two cars. A pickup truck and another car followed.

"She was close," Hamilton said, referring to the motorist in the car. "She was 55."

Then a car clocked 61 mph, but traffic threatened to impede Hamilton's pursuit.

"I don't know if I'm going to get him," Hamilton said as he sped up Dave Lyle behind a Buick that pulled over in the Target parking lot.

Not only was the 39-year-old Rock Hill man speeding, but he didn't have his driver's license.

"He's clear," said Hamilton, who was able to locate the man's driver's license number. "A lot of times, when they say they don't have it, they're suspended. In his case it wasn't. I'm glad."

That problem solved, Hamilton meted out yet another ticket.

"He said he was in a hurry, that he was going to a job interview," Hamilton said. "We could have been done if he had his driver's license on him. When I have to call, it slows things down a bit."

Hamilton retreated from Dave Lyle Boulevard for a stint on Celanese Road.

Peek offered a word of caution to motorists.

"Speeding is not worth the risk," Peek said. "It's better to be late than not get there at all."