Coopertown, Tennessee
A recent change to the speed limit on Highway 49 in Coopertown sparked a lot of scrutiny from residents, but Coopertown Police say there was a valid reason for the reduction in speed. Coopertown Police posted a release to social media on March 22, 2024, explaining the reason for the change.
From the desk of Chief Tyler Haley
3/22/2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETo all,
Good evening and I hope you all are doing well this Friday. I want to touch base with you all and discuss the speed limit change on Hwy 49, near the Circle K and Marathon gas stations. The speed has been reduced from 50mph to 35mph from the 3000 block of Hwy 49W to the entrance of the Marathon going in both directions. This change has been enacted to try and reduce the number of crashes in that area as we have seen an increase in injury and fatalities along that stretch.
One of our goals is to keep the motorists safe while they are traveling through Coopertown. Over the last few years we have seen such an increase in travel on Hwy 49 alone. This travel is becoming more and more dangerous with speeding, passing on double yellow, following too close and the list goes on. On a weekly basis, we receive a large number of complaints in our office about the reckless drivers on Hwy 49. We hear you and we see the problem.
That specific area of roadway has blind hills, blind driveways and presents a level of traffic safety concern. During the peak times, the traffic light backs vehicles up to the hill and another vehicle comes over at 50+ mph and has a hard time slowing before colliding with the vehicle in front of them. Our mission is to keep motorists safe and this is a measure we hope will achieve that goal.
At 60mph, you are traveling approx. 88 feet per second; at 50mph, you are traveling approx. 73 feet per second; at 35mph, you are traveling approx. 51 feet per second. Using the 60mph versus the 35mph that’s approx. 37 feet per second difference, which in the world of kinetic energy is significant. Speed is a leading cause of fatalities in Tennessee. When speed goes up, survival goes down.
According to our last study in 2022, Hwy 49W sees over 90,000 vehicles per week. In 2018 the study showed approx. 50,000 vehicles per week. This study was done in the heart of Hwy 49 in Coopertown near the schools. We have seen more serious injury and fatal crashes in the 3000 block of Hwy 49 than we have in the past. We must make a change before it affects another life negatively. I hope each of you will understand the need and support the decisions to make our roadways a safer place for your families. May you all be blessed and have a wonderful weekend.
Chief Tyler Haley
Coopertown Police Department
Despite the detailed reason for the reduction in the speed limit to help prevent further crashes from occurring in the portion of roadway just before reaching the intersection of Highway 49 and Joe Dowlen Rd, many on social media continued to criticize the change. During the Coopertown Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) meeting on Tuesday, March 28, 2024, Coopertown Police Chief Tyler Haley and Sergeant Justin Parker spoke to a packed room, giving further insight into why the speed limit needed to change.
Chief Haley started by posing some questions to everyone present. “How much is your life worth? How much is your family’s life worth? If there was something you could do to go back and change one thing that would save your loved one’s life, wouldn’t you do it?” During his presentation, Chief Haley explained that in the short stretch of roadway on Highway 49, between H York Road and Joe Dowlen Road, the department had responded to and taken numerous crash reports, prompting the need to make some changes for the safety of the Coopertown community. Chief Haley added that the speed limit reduction was purely motivated by safety concerns and had nothing to do with writing tickets. “The speed limit has needed to be changed for a long time” said Haley, “but with it being a State highway, TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) had historically been the agency with authority to make those changes.” Chief Haley explained that now municipalities may set the speed limit within their jurisdiction, instead of having to petition TDOT to implement speed limit changes.
“Since 2017, there have been numerous crashes, to include two fatalities and one near-fatality; meaning someone was seriously injured as a result of a crash to the extent it could have resulted in fatality, but they ultimately survived,” said Chief Haley. “There is a school bus stop in that area and one of our officers witnessed a vehicle nearly collide with a stopped school bus as the vehicle came over the blind hill” Haley continued. Chief Haley pointed out the speed limit change was only pushed back about a half mile and adds a mere 15 seconds of driving time.
According to data collected from the Tennessee Integrated Traffic Analysis Network (TITAN), from January 1, 2017, until March 28, 2024, Coopertown Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and Robertson County Sheriff’s Office had collectively taken a total of 87 crash reports in this stretch of roadway. Of those reports, 2 were fatalities, 18 were injury accidents, with one of those being a near-fatal accident and one being DUI-related that was later reduced to reckless driving, and 67 were non-injury/property damage only reports. Those numbers do not reflect any crashes that were not reported to law enforcement and may not reflect any injuries that were cared for after the report was taken – meaning someone refused treatment at the scene of the accident, but later sought treatment without reporting the injury to law enforcement.
Chief Haley explained that the speed limit on Woods Road in Coopertown was reduced approximately two years ago from 40 mph to 30 mph due to an area near one specific tree that was a high crash area. To express how effective the speed limit change on Woods Road was, Chief Haley advised the Board that since the change there had been no crashes in that area. He explained there was one report where a motorist slid off the roadway in the snow and had minimal damage to their vehicle, but that was not considered a crash.
The decision to lower the speed limit on Highway 49 was brought to the attention of Coopertown Mayor Becca Werner. When Chief Haley explained the need to reduce the speed limit to the Mayor, she authorized Chief Haley to implement the change. Chief Haley explained he and the Mayor consulted with TDOT and were advised the plans were in accordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
Sergeant Parker addressed the meeting by giving some data from a 2022 traffic study conducted by Coopertown Police Department in the 3800 block of Highway 49. The study was conducted from July 29, 2022, and August 5, 2022, with the 29th and the 5th being partial data days. There were 6 full days of traffic data collected in that period. The posted speed limit on Highway 49 in the studied stretch of road was 50 mph. 85% of the vehicles on the road during that study were travelling approximately 56 mph. There was a total of 50,959 vehicles recorded during the study. Of those, 31,369 were travelling between 51 mph and 60 mph. 1,993 were travelling between 61 mph and greater than 85 mph.
“Perception and reaction time (PRT) refers to the time it takes a driver to see a hazard and begin to react to it” said Sergeant Parker. “On average, this PRT is about 1.6 seconds – about 0.8 seconds to perceive the hazard and about 0.8 seconds to start to react to it. During this time, your vehicle is still travelling at the same speed until whatever you do to avoid the hazard starts,” said Parker.
- At 35 mph, PRT will last for a distance of 83 feet.
- 45 mph, PRT = 106 feet
- 50 mph, PRT = 118 feet
- 60 mph, PRT = 141 feet
Sergeant Parker explained that there are a lot of variables in reconstructing motor vehicle crashes, and it requires having data such as the amount of friction between the tires and the road surface, whether or not the roadway is on an uphill or downhill grade or level, and what condition the vehicle is in, particularly the effectiveness of the vehicle’s braking system. Parker explained that for the purpose of giving an estimate of determining the total distance required to stop a vehicle, some average data was used and given perfect conditions, such as a level roadway with dry asphalt and 100% braking.
Given that estimated data, the following are approximate distances required to stop a vehicle:
- 35 mph – PRT 83 feet + braking distance of 50 feet = total stopping distance 133 feet
- 45 mph – PRT 106 feet + braking distance of 80 feet = total stopping distance 186 feet
- 50 mph – PRT 118 feet + braking distance of 120 feet = total stopping distance 238 feet
- 60 mph – PRT 141 feet + braking distance of 172 feet = total stopping distance 313 feet
“If vehicles are going 56 – 60 mph on Highway 49, they’re going to need nearly a football field’s length to stop once they observe a hazard,” said Sergeant Parker. “That’s if they’re paying attention and not looking at their phone.” Sergeant Parker went on to explain the estimated distance from the top of a blind hill, just before where many of the crashes occurred, to the first driveway downhill was approximately 362 feet. The estimated distance from the top of the hill to the area where many of the crashes have occurred was approximately 500 feet.
“I’ve personally taken many crash reports in this area, to the point where I recognized it was a problem area,” said Parker. “I worked a non-injury accident there just a few weeks ago in front of the same house where they always are. I spoke with Chief after that crash and suggested we needed to do something to get vehicles to slow down over the blind hills. I felt the easiest, most cost-effective way to reduce crashes was to simply move the speed limit signs back just a bit. We technically didn’t really change the speed limit other than to move the signs back.”
Many expressed concern with the length of the red light at the intersection of Highway 49 and Joe Dowlen Road, citing the red light lasts too long with no traffic on Joe Dowlen Road or York Road. Chief Haley addressed that the City was in the process of getting the lights adjusted by contacting Stansell Electric. Sergeant Parker pointed out that the installation of a flashing sign over the hill with sensors under the roadway to alert motorists of stopped vehicles would be costly compared to moving the speed limit signs.
Sergeant Parker concluded by saying that regardless of the posted speed limit, there will always be someone driving faster than the posted speed limit. “The comment that we need to lower the speed limit so we can write more tickets or increase revenue is a remark based on ignorance,” said Parker. “I don’t need the speed limit lowered just to write a ticket. I can assure you that the motivation for the speed limit change was for the safety of the public and had nothing to do with writing tickets. We’ve placed signs giving advance notice of the change and it’s been posted to social media. We plan to allow people time to adapt to the new speed limit,” said Sergeant Parker.
