A recent survey published by Reader’s Digest regarding the safety of Alabama’s roadways has raised a few eyebrows.

The survey ranked Alabama ninth out of 50 states in terms of highest amount of deaths related to driving under the influence, and first in the nation in deaths related to traveling at excessive speeds.

Clanton Police Sgt. Neil Fetner said he thinks the key to making roadways safer is for municipal police departments to start patrolling the parts of the interstate that come through their towns.

“We believe that if the public knew we were in areas that we are currently restricted from, that might change they way they drive,” he said.

There’s just one problem: a state law prevents local police departments from doing so.

In cities with less than 19,000 residents, municipal officers are restricted from issuing speeding tickets along interstates. The law also permits officers to only enforce speeding limits within a municipality’s city limits but not its police jurisdiction.

The restrictions came in 1996 in a measure supported by former State Sen. Lowell Barron (D-Fyffe). Barron pushed for restrictions after being stopped by officers twice between his home and Montgomery, including once in Clanton.

There is a motion to repeal the law, put in place by Sen. Gerald Dial (R-Lineville). Dial said he feels the law limiting local officers hurts the local departments.

“They can work accidents [on the interstates], but I can ride by them going 100 miles an hour and they can’t do anything about it,” he said. “It makes them second-class officers, and they aren’t.”

Fetner agreed with Dial’s statement.

“[People] are not going to commit a crime where [they] know there are sanctions,” he said. “If it’s a crime where there are no sanctions, [they’re] going to do it.”

Still, not all share Fetner and Dial’s viewpoint. Many people feel that the small town departments are trying to generate revenue by writing more tickets.

“I think the big pitfall we face is that someone believes [ticket money] will be used by the municipalities for revenue,” he said. “It’s not for revenue, it’s for saving people’s lives. On an approximate $168 ticket, the municipality makes $17, and the rest goes to state funds. And I can provide facts on that.”

Another concern many people have is the threat of speed traps. A speed trap is defined as a sharp decrease in the maximum speed of a stretch of road in a short period of space.

The state of Alabama has laws against them, and has stiff penalties for departments who use them. The town of Fruithurst became notorious for them in the 1970s, until the Attorney General’s office came in and shut the police department down completely.

Fetner said he believed violations should be handled on a case-by-case basis.

“I say reverse the [current speeding] law,” he said. “And any department found to be abusing power should be sanctioned by the Attorney General. Don’t punish everyone; just let the Attorney General handle it.”

Dial said the odds of speed traps lasting in today’s society were slim to none.

“Nowadays with all the automation we have, if a speed trap sprang up, the media would be all over it,” he said. “I just don’t see it happening. With all the social media, [the attorney general] would be all over it and shut it down immediately. It happened a long time ago, yes, but I don’t see it happening now.”

Fetner said one of the main reasons he wanted to see Alabama roadways become safer was a personal one.

“It’s an interesting angle to take when Reader’s Digest takes a survey and finds Alabama ranking No. 1 in speeding deaths and No. 9 in DUI-related deaths,” he said. “I don’t want my family members taken out by someone driving careless.”