The Fall River Police Department announced today that they recently completed another neighborhood traffic study, this time on Meridian Street, collecting data from September 10 through September 28, 2026.
In this study, the radar trailer signs were placed in “Speed Limit” mode rather than displaying each approaching vehicle’s speed. This allowed us to conduct a blind analysis without influencing driver behavior. In other words, motorists did not receive speed feedback from the sign, giving us a better picture of how traffic normally moves through the area.
Here’s what the raw data showed:
• 27,359 vehicles were recorded during the study period.
• The posted speed limit is 30 MPH.
• The average recorded speed was 35 MPH.
• The 85th percentile speed was 39 MPH, meaning 85% of motorists were traveling at or below that speed.
• 2,845 vehicles were recorded traveling 40 MPH or greater: 10 MPH or more above the posted speed limit.
• Approximately 90% of vehicles remained below that 40 MPH threshold.
• The highest recorded speed was 65 MPH.
While the overwhelming majority of motorists remained below our enforcement threshold, nearly 2,900 vehicles traveling 40 MPH or faster and a high of 65 MPH certainly gets our attention.
As FRPD said with previous studies, they don’t have an issue telling the public where they’re seeing speeding or where enforcement may be focused. The goal isn’t to surprise people and write tickets; the goal is to get people to slow down. If publishing the data and talking about enforcement changes someone’s driving behavior, that’s a win.
Meridian Street is a neighborhood roadway shared by motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and residents. Traveling 50, 55, or even 65 MPH on a residential street creates an unnecessary danger for everyone using that roadway.
FRPD noted that living in the neighborhood does not come with the optional “resident speed limit.” Sometimes the vehicles generating neighborhood complaints aren’t traveling very far from home.
“We will continue using traffic studies like this to replace assumptions with actual data, identify areas of concern, and direct our enforcement resources where they can have the greatest impact.”
According to Fall River Police, a 90% compliance rate would not typically warrant identifying an area as a significant speeding problem. However, Chief J.T. Hoar has determined that, because of Meridian Street’s long, straight roadway configuration, the Department will continue targeted speed enforcement in the area. Meridian Street has been a recurring traffic enforcement “hot spot” for some time, and the current data suggests that these ongoing enforcement efforts are having a positive effect and helping maintain the relatively high compliance rate.
