Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 10 · column 5 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
the number of vehicles recorded in the study traveling 45 mph or greater.
Fowler counted 58 instances shown in the data summaries for each HI-STAR unit and noted that these vehicles were exceeding the speed limit by 20 mph or more, which he cited as “reckless driving” under Virginia law. Extrapolating from this one sample, taken in a 24-hour period, Fowler’s summary projected 290 incidents of reckless driving per week, 1,160 per month and more than 15,000 per year. Fowler noted that he based his figures on a five-day week and that they would probably increase if weekends were included.
“This (speeding) doesn’t call for half measures, it calls for a serious response,” Fowler said.
Later analysis by the Rappahannock News showed that each unit measured traffic in both directions and that the total number of vehicles going 45 mph or more was actually 102, not the 58 listed in Fowler’s summary.
Fowler said in a telephone interview this week that he’d gotten a copy of the report a day or two before and that it seemed to have been missing pages. The report available at the council meeting had all six totals for vehicles traveling 45 mph or faster.
“My research might have been a little flawed, but my point is adequately made,” Fowler said. “My conclusions were not unreasonable and I was trying to be conservative.”
Fowler said that the information begs the question: “Has the sheriff ever given anyone a ticket for reckless driving in the Tbwn of Washington?”
At the meeting, council member Jeff Benson noted
95.2%