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Rutherford resident criticizes speed-warning signs and lack of enforcement during council public comment
Summary
During public comment at the March 10 meeting, resident David Schneider criticized speed-warning signs and said the borough plans to use an 'IMR system' rather than enforcement; he cited national and local traffic fatality figures as part of his remarks.
During public comment at the March 10 Mayor and Council meeting, Rutherford resident David Schneider urged the council to consider stronger measures than speed-warning signs to change driver behavior and questioned whether the signs would be backed by enforcement.
David Schneider of 8 Eastern Way said signs that display speed are ineffective without enforcement and likened them to a "robot nanny" that lacks consequences. "If you want to stop people from doing something, a sign won't do it," Schneider said. He said that when asked whether new signs would be backed up by enforcement, "the answer was no. We're putting everybody on the IMR system," a comment he attributed to the way the borough intends to address compliance.
Schneider placed the local problem in a broader historical and statistical frame, saying the first recorded U.S. traffic fatality occurred in 1899 and that, he said, in 2023 there were "over 40,000" traffic fatalities nationwide. He also said New Jersey recorded 691 traffic fatalities in 2023 and that Rutherford suffered a traffic fatality in 2022 with three others injured; those figures were offered as part of his public comment.
The remarks were made during the meeting's public comment period and were not part of a council agenda item; no council response or council action on enforcement or sign policy is recorded in the meeting transcript.
