GASTONIA, N.C. — Last year was one of the deadliest years on North Carolina roads.
The NC Department of Transportation said it hasn’t seen this many fatalities in two decades -- 1,755 people died in traffic crashes in 2021, up 5% from 2020.
The state said they saw increases in deaths related to not wearing a seatbelt, distracted driving and speeding.
Many cars travel Robinwood Road in Gastonia every day, and it doesn’t take long to see drivers speeding by.
“They’re drag racing up and down during the evenings just a lot of speed going on,” Gastonia resident Mike Martin said.
Last October, the Gastonia City Council adopted an amendment to Chapter 6, Amendment A-14 of the City’s Code of Ordinance – Streets and Traffic. The amendment adjusts traffic to a lower speed limit on Robinwood Road from Union Road to Colony Woods Drive.
“People have been speeding over the last couple of years at rates we generally don’t see,” Director of NC Governor's Highway Safety Program Mark Ezzell said.
The new speed limit will affect traffic on Robinwood Road from Union Road to Colony Woods Drive. In addition, the ordinance reduces the speed limit in the Hawks Nest STEAM Academy School Zone from 35 mph to 25 mph.
But some Gastonia residents say they’re not sure it’s doing much.
“I see the little sign that gaging our speed every morning and I consistently see it beeping that people are going over, so I don’t know how much it’s really changed,” Gastonia Resident Staci Keopraseuth said.
Ezzell said speed enforcement is a top priority, but preventative measures may help solve the problem.
“We need to educate folks, we need to design roads so that these kinds of speeds are not easily done,” Ezzell said. “You’re going to need that community involvement and that citizen concern about this public health crisis to get it effectively addressed.”
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.