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Psst, Speeders: There’s A New Sheriff In Town Ponderay Cracks Down On Fast Drivers, Issuing 438 Tickets Over Six Months

By Kevin Keating KevinKe@spokesman.com

In police lingo, the little city of Ponderay could be considered a “cherry patch.”

With two state highways running through the town, lead-footed drivers have become easy pickin’ for the Ponderay police force.

Last month alone, the four-person department wrote 148 citations. All but a handful of the tickets were for speeding.

“People just don’t want to pay attention to the speed limit,” Police Chief Mike Hutter said. “It’s like the Indianapolis 500 out there. There are so many we can’t keep up.”

The town of 600 residents isn’t a speed trap, and officers aren’t hard-nosed with drivers cruising a little over the posted limits. But when drivers regularly hit 70 to 90 mph in a 55-mph zone, they need to be slowed down.

“The word is out,” Hutter said. “There is a police department in Ponderay now.” He took over as chief in May. Three years ago, the city had no department of its own. The town relied on Bonner County sheriff’s deputies or the Sandpoint Police Department.

Ponderay hired its first police chief in November 1994, but there was little enforcement. Hutter changed that. His crew will write more tickets in seven months than the former chief and his officers issued in two and half years.

“Catching speeders is not our only purpose in life,” he said. “But when you have two state highways and the high traffic volume we do, it becomes a big part of the job.”

In the past six months, Ponderay officers issued 438 citations, the vast majority for speeding. Many motorists just aren’t used to seeing officers on patrol in Ponderay. “People got away with it for a couple years,” Ponderay Mayor Jim Hunt said. “Now it’s time to pay the piper.”

The piles of tickets will add about $6,000 to the city coffers this year.

“That’s not the reason we do it, but it doesn’t hurt,” Hunt said. The basic fine for speeding is $53. The city gets to keep about $18, and the rest goes for court costs. A driver caught going 20 mph over the speed limit will pay $108.

Part of the problem is U.S. Highway 95 was rebuilt to four lanes in Ponderay. Drivers get out of traffic congestion in neighboring Sandpoint, see open road and hit the gas. They blast by a soccer field complex and a church.

“Someone is going to get rear-ended at a high rate of speed and get killed,” Hutter said. “I don’t want people to get the impression we are a speed trap. We are just trying to slow them down.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Map of area.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ADDING IT UP In the past six months, Ponderay officers issued 438 citations, the vast majority for speeding. The basic fine for speeding is $53, of which the city gets to keep about $18. The rest goes for court costs. All told, the tickets will add about $6,000 to city coffers this year.

This sidebar appeared with the story: ADDING IT UP In the past six months, Ponderay officers issued 438 citations, the vast majority for speeding. The basic fine for speeding is $53, of which the city gets to keep about $18. The rest goes for court costs. All told, the tickets will add about $6,000 to city coffers this year.