The Crittenden Automotive Library

Speed limit lowered on Davis Rd.

Speed limit lowered on Davis Rd.

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
December 4, 2012

If you haven't driven on Davis Road recently between Dean Street and South Street, there is a new speed limit. The speed zone is now a 40MPH zone, rather than 45MPH.

The McHenry County Department of Transportation made the decision to lower the speed limit. No doubt the number of crashes, including fatalities, and the number of near-misses had something to do with the decision. The rolling hills and short sight lines probably also impacted their decision. MCDOT provided the signs to Dorr Township, and the Door Township Highway Department erected them.

Last summer's July 1st fatalities from a drag race westbound on Davis Road resulted in numerous felony charges against Daniel ("Potatoe") Huber. Huber is out on a $45,000 bond, and his next court date is January 3, 2013.

Careful investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Accident Investigation Squad resulted in identification of Huber, whose car was not physically involved in the fatal accident that killed Alec Kaiser and Jacob Norys, both 16. Kaiser was driving a car owned by the Norys family, and cell phone records of Kaiser indicate a call between Huber and him immediately before the time of the crash. Were Huber and Kaiser talking on the phone at the time of the crash?

No date has been set yet for Huber's trial.

Rather than letting a case drag on for months and years, why don't judges set a trial date soon after charges are filed? Then the lawyers could do all their finagling and get it done with. This would be a good way to unclog court calendars and eliminate months (sometimes years) of continuances.

A lower speed limit last summer would not have eliminated that crash. Kaiser disregarded the posted speed limit, was driving an unfamiliar car and quite possibly overdrove his headlights. He probably topped the hill before the crash site, lost sight of the roadway underneath the headlights, steered to the right and slightly onto the shoulder, overcorrected and ran off the left side of the roadway, hitting a tree and brick column.

Last summer I emailed the principals of the two public high schools in Woodstock and the driver's ed teacher to inquire how they addressed driving habits with students, in order to impress the dangers upon them. One principal replied that he would contact me after the school year started. The other principal and the driver's ed teacher did not reply.

None of them has contacted me since.