🚗The Data Is In…
The Fall River Police Department recently completed another neighborhood traffic study, this time on Meridian Street, collecting traffic data from September 10 through September 28, 2026.
One important detail about this study: our radar trailer signs were placed in “Speed Limit” mode, rather than displaying the speed of each approaching vehicle.
Why does that matter? It allowed us to conduct a blind analysis without influencing driver behavior. Motorists weren’t receiving speed feedback from the sign, giving us a better picture of how traffic normally moves through the area.
📊 Here’s what the data showed:
- 27,359 vehicles were recorded during the study period.
- The posted speed limit is 30 MPH.
- The average recorded speed was 35 MPH.
- The 85th percentile speed was 39 MPH, meaning 85% of motorists were traveling at or below that speed.
- 2,845 vehicles were recorded traveling 40 MPH or faster — at least 10 MPH over the posted speed limit.
- Approximately 90% of vehicles remained below 40 MPH.
- The highest recorded speed was 65 MPH.
While the overwhelming majority of motorists remained below our enforcement threshold, nearly 2,900 vehicles traveling 40 MPH or faster, including a recorded high of 65 MPH, certainly gets our attention.
As we’ve said with previous traffic studies, we have no problem telling the public where we’re seeing speeding or where enforcement may be focused.
The goal isn’t to surprise people and write tickets. The goal is to get people to slow down.
If publishing the data and talking openly about enforcement changes someone’s driving behavior, that’s a win.
Meridian Street is a neighborhood roadway shared by motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and residents. Traveling 50, 55, or even 65 MPH on a residential street creates an unnecessary danger for everyone using that roadway.
And a friendly reminder to our Meridian Street neighbors: living in the neighborhood does not come with an optional “resident speed limit.” 😎 Sometimes the vehicles generating neighborhood complaints aren’t traveling very far from home.
We will continue using traffic studies like this to replace assumptions with actual data, identify areas of concern, and direct our enforcement resources where they can have the greatest impact.
A roughly 90% compliance rate would not typically warrant identifying an area as a significant speeding problem. However, because of Meridian Street’s long, straight roadway configuration, Chief J.T. Hoar has determined that the Department will continue targeted speed enforcement in the area.
Meridian Street has been a recurring traffic enforcement “hot spot” for some time, and the current data indicates that continued enforcement efforts are helping maintain the relatively high compliance rate.
The goal is simple: Slow down. Get there safely.
