The stretch of Slaughter Lane from Brodie to Mopac has been under construction to expand the lanes since the beginning of the school year. Throughout the day, construction workers are working along the side of the road and in the median. It’s customary to have a new speed limit in construction zones to protect the workers. Typically this change drops the speed limit by 10 mph. Originally 45 mph, Slaughter’s new speed limit, near Bowie especially, is now 35 mph.
This has essentially created a speed trap along the stretch of Slaughter near Bowie, where police officers and constables are waiting to stop people who don’t realize the speed limit has dropped. The officers are present from around 8 a.m. to well into the afternoon.
“At the beginning of every day, I see around three cops on motorcycles and maybe one constable,” junior Raylie Soliz said. “At least one of them is sitting on the entrance of Bowie at Slaughter.”
There have been many instances of students being pulled over, as well as students seeing other students get pulled over. It happens more so in the morning when people on their way to school and drive through Slaughter. Because of this, it’s become something students have started to witness more frequently.
“I’ve seen two cars pulled over,” Soliz said. “I saw a Tesla on Monday at the light when you’re about to enter Bowie; and I saw another car a month ago at the beginning of Wolftrap.”
More than just seeing someone get pulled over, senior Cameron Tishgart was in the car when her friend got pulled over for speeding. They were on Slaughter, heading to 7-Eleven, when an officer had her friend pull into the parking lot.
“I felt so bad when she got pulled over,” Tishgart said. “But I was so thankful that I wasn’t driving because I know I would have sped and that would have been me.”
The officers have been stationed on motorcycles at the exits of neighborhoods and near the school entrance. This has caused stress and inconvenience for many of the student drivers around Bowie. Students have been avoiding Slaughter due to the cops frequenting the campus area in the mornings.
“I cut through the neighborhood because if there’s a cop I can avoid them and I feel like it’s a bit faster,” Tishgart said. “It doesn’t feel as awfully slow as driving 35 on Slaughter.”
The speed drop is necessary and routine when a work zone is active to protect the workers on the road. Although the increase in police presence has been perceived as an inconvenience, they are enforcing this speed drop and increasing the protection of these workers.
“That’s the price of construction, It’s for the safety of the construction workers,” AQR teacher Edward Day said. “ People go faster than the speed limit, but they won’t if the cops are there; and we don’t want to lose a life.”
Overall, the increasing number of cops on Slaughter and the fact that there is enforcement of the 10 MPH speed limit drop now has also increased student drivers’ caution with it. To students it may be inconvenient, but it does make Slaughter safer for the construction workers.
“Ever since my friend was pulled over I’ve been so much more aware,” Tishgart said. “I feel bad that happened to her, but I feel so much better now that I know.”
