During periods of heavy rain, certain areas of Columbus and Bartholomew County are prone to flooding. This prompts city authorities to close certain roads by placing “road closed” signs and orange cones in the road to act as a barricade.
They’re placed in the roadways for good reason. The water is high, and attempting to drive through the water is likely to be problematic.
Those warnings should be clear.
So, too, is the fact that local police have indicated they will fine violators who disregard the flood barricades and drive around them. And, they have.
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Unfortunately, too many motorists ignore the barricades and warnings and drive around the signs and into the water. And, too often, the motorists become stranded, thus necessitating assistance from law enforcement, including water rescues.
These are situations that can be avoided if motorists just heed the warnings.
More than 500 calls for water rescues have been made in the past five years, according to county officials. Some of those are the result of motorists disregarding the flood barricades.
The Bartholomew County Commissioners had an opportunity to send a stronger message to motorists that such behavior wouldn’t be tolerated.
On Monday, a proposed ordinance change was presented to them that asked for fines to increase to $500, a significant jump from the state-imposed $140. It had the support of the sheriff’s department, county highway department, the Emergency Operations Center and other first-responders.
Such an increase would have sent a strong message that ignoring the flood barricades wouldn’t be tolerated. The commissioners, though, held a different view and voted against the proposal. That was disappointing.
The commissioners said those who could least afford a $500 fine would likely end up being the ones fined. If that’s the case, though, they likely can’t afford a $140 fine either.
Current fines are not having an impact, though. A harder hit to the wallet is more likely to send the desired message.
The commissioners also said raising the fine above the state level would require fines to be handled by county attorney Grant Tucker instead of county prosecutor Bill Nash. Tucker would be paid an hourly rate instead of a fixed sum like Nash is, so the commissioners said his fees could wipe out what is received in fines.
That cost is an understandable concern, but there would be opportunity to negotiate with Tucker on a rate that would still make the costlier fine justifiable.
The commissioners instead want to explore permanent flip signs on road closed signs that explain the fines, and gates that keep roads closed.
It’s questionable whether motorists would slow enough to read details about the fine on flip signs, but gates that would keep roads closed seems like a better idea. Such gates probably would incur a significant up-front cost for the county if a greater supply is needed, and possibly more manpower to erect them. But, if those gates are impassable then they would have the desired impact with motorists.
We hope the commissioners and county emergency personnel can work together on a good solution that will make motorists take heed. What’s in place now isn’t working.
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