Even cops surprised by Delaware beach traffic stunts

Just when you thought the crazy and dysfunctional world of beach traffic couldn't possibly get any worse, a driver in a white SUV hangs a u-turn across multiple lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic on Del. 1 near Lewes.

Huh?

"Did you see that?" asked Delaware State Police Sgt. Anthony Mendez.

You might think Mendez has seen it all. He leads the accident reconstruction team for Sussex County and is based out of Troop 7 near Lewes.

But sometimes, the things beach drivers, pedestrians and cyclists do can even surprise the traffic experts.

"That kind of stuff blows my mind," he said.

But here's the deal. Some of the craziest stuff beach drivers do goes unchecked.

"I saw it," he said. "But I couldn't get to it."

And that's what can make beach driving such a challenge. That "where's a cop when you need one" mantra that we've all repeated from time to time when we see a really bone-headed driving move just doesn't apply when the road is gridlocked.

Mendez agreed to have a News Journal reporter and photographer ride along for an afternoon for a view of beach traffic through the windshield of an unmarked police SUV. 

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What we saw might surprise even the most seasoned coastal highway road warrior: Pedestrians dashing across the highway when a signaled crosswalk was a few feet away; red light runners; and a few folks who far exceeded the 55 mph speed limit just north of Lewes.

One person got a ticket. He was pushing 80. Not a bad driver, Mendez said, he was just driving way too fast. 

Mostly, Mendez's style is to talk to people so when they do something dangerous, they learn not to do it again.

Crashes are a big part of what Troop 7 police officers handle. So far this year, they've investigated 1,446 accidents and the majority of them -- 807 -- have happened in the “hot spot” along Coastal Highway between the Five Points intersection and the limits of Dewey Beach, said Troop 7 Troop Commander Capt. Alice J. Brumbley. 

"Although the number of injury crashes has dropped since last year, if crashes continue the rest of the year at the current pace, we will experience a 6 percent increase from last year’s crash rate of 2,019," she said. "We have focused our enforcement efforts on the times and locations when crashes are the highest."

Prime causes of accidents

What officers have seen is the primary contributor to crashes is driver inattention, distraction or fatigue, she said.

One issue along Coastal Highway is that there are many distractions from road signs and businesses. 

For the driver, "it really requires your full attention," she said.

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For some folks, like Jack Cam of Lewes, the traffic is so bad it's just not worth heading out into it. This summer, Cam said, he started taking the bus because it's faster, safer and less stressful.

"It's horrendous," he said of the traffic on Del. 1. "Every year it gets worse. It's bad all the time."

Cam's horror story from this summer occurred last Sunday. He was headed to church and he decided to drive. He needed to turn on the highway and there were about 12 cars in front of him, waiting to turn left.

"It took a half-hour," he said. The light cycle was short and only four cars could make it through at a time plus other cars were blocking the intersection. ... "in the heat. In the traffic."

Intersection blockers are just one problem and they can cause a cascading impact, Mendez said.

There is a corollary to the intersection blocker and that is the vehicle -- and often it's vehicles -- that continue through an intersection even after the light shifts from yellow to red.

Bottom line, Mendez said, is that blocking intersections and blowing through those lights even when traffic is at a crawl, are illegal and can make a bad traffic situation worse.

When is it the worst? A rainy day when people don't go to the beach ramps up the traffic on Route 1, he said.

"Everybody comes to the outlets," he said. "That's where you get all your red light runs."

From a safety standpoint, there's another concern.

"There's a six-second buffer between red and green," Mendez said. In a perfect world, no traffic would be moving through the intersection during that six-second safety margin. 

But even on a weekday, there are motorists who drive on the razor's edge.

"We just had four cars run this red light," he said.

Among the trouble spots on Del. 1 for red light runners: Postal Lane, Del. 24 and Old Landing Road, he said.

Red light runners can disrupt the normal flow of traffic but one of the big concerns is pedestrians.

State transportation officials just spent millions to make Del. 1 more pedestrian friendly with signaled crosswalks and better lighting to improve night visibility. But people still try to cross anywhere they can and that is a huge safety issue.

Twice during the ride along pedestrians started to cross the highway where there weren't crosswalks and traffic lights. In each case, Mendez saw what was about to happen, pulled the SUV across the travel lanes to block traffic and helped the pedestrians cross. Then, he had a word with them.

"I just happened to be in the ideal position to do something," he said. "I'd rather talk to people than give them a ticket."

Wear walking shoes

Getting around can be a challenge, especially for the scores of people who come to Delaware's resorts to shop at the outlets.

Brianah Whitlow and Yaffa Lim, of Cape May, New Jersey, took the Cape May-Lewes Ferry for a day of outlet shopping earlier this week.

The ferry bus brought them to one outlet and then they planned to use the shuttle bus to move between the shopping centers, Whitlow said.

"It's hard," she said. "We waited for the ... bus. It came and drove by us."

The two women ended up doing a lot of walking along Del. 1.

Whitlow said she would come back but "next time, I'll bring my car."

From a safety standpoint, a few issues really stand out. Dozens upon dozens of people ride their bikes and many people still drive under the influence, Mendez said.

But "the most increasingly dangerous thing that I see on a daily basis are people being distracted while driving," he said. When someone is distracted, they aren't engaged in actively driving.

"Those types of crashes are devastating," he said.

Reach Molly Murray at (302) 463-3334 or mmurray@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @MollyMurraytnj.

Ask The Trooper

Can you use the far right bus and bike lane as a deceleration and acceleration lane to get on and off Del. 1?

Yes. But if you do, you must merge into a regular travel lane or exit before you reach the next traffic light. Your can't travel in the bus and bike lane. In other words, it's not your personal travel lane.

What about those people who ride the left lane? Are they breaking any laws?

No. Motorists can travel in the left lane as long as they go the posted speed limit. Someone going 55 mph in the left lane isn't breaking any law, although he may be annoying the drivers who want to go above the posted speed limit.

Can you talk on your cell phone, check your texts, answer an email when you are stopped for a red light?

Yes. Delaware's hands free law applies when a vehicle is in motion. But as soon as the light changes and you start moving through that intersection, the phone needs to be stowed and you need to be hands free otherwise, you will get a ticket.

Can bikes ride on the new sidewalks along Del. 1? And if so, must they travel in the direction of the vehicles?

Yes, bikes are permitted on the new sidewalks but they must yield to pedestrians. Because they are on the sidewalk, they can ride in either direction and aren't required to ride with traffic. Bikes in the bike lane must ride with traffic. All bikes must obey the same laws as vehicles, including stopping for red lights.

What about scooters in the bus, bike lane? Is that legal?

Sometimes. It all depends on whether the scooter has enough power to run with the flow of traffic. If it does, the scooter should be in the regular travel lane. If not, the scooter can run in the bus, bike lane.

There's bumper-to-bumper traffic and I get stuck in the intersection. Am I violating the law?

Yes. Wait until there is space to proceed through the intersection. It is never legal to block the intersection.

I'm a pedestrian. Where is it legal for me to cross Rt. 1?

Always cross at the signaled crosswalks along Del. 1.