BRISTOL, Tenn. – While Bristol Motor Speedway officials are fretting that Bluff City’s new speed cameras on U.S. Highway 11E might upset and alienate unsuspecting race visitors, city officials said Wednesday that the controversial detectors will be operating during the March 19-21 race weekend.
"I totally respect the folks at Bristol Motor Speedway and I guess I could see their concern," City Manager Frederick Weaver said.
"But I’m sure that more than anything, the people at BMS want everyone coming to the races to get there and back home safely," Weaver said. "They don’t want fans getting involved in high-speed crashes that kill or paralyze someone. And that’s exactly what we’re trying to prevent with our speed cameras. So I personally see no need to turn them off for three days."
Bluff City Police Chief David Nelson was even more blunt about the cameras, which catch motorists exceeding the 45 mph limit – and allow Bluff City to issue $90 fines to violators.
"As far as whether we’re going to turn them off [for the race weekend], it’s ‘No,’" Nelson said. "They will not be turned off."
Bluff City’s firm response was delivered after BMS spokesman Kevin Triplett admitted Tuesday that the speedway was concerned that the cameras might snag huge numbers of visiting fans – and negatively affect how they enjoy the overall race weekend, which features the Scotts Turf Builder 300 and Food City 500.
"It’d be preferable to us if they were turned off for three days," Triplett said of Bluff City’s speed cameras during a Tuesday news conference at Bristol City Hall announcing race weekend traffic plans.
Triplett noted that BMS is expecting a massive number of first-time visitors, and those new fans, in particular, would lack "the local knowledge" to notice and observe Bluff City’s speed cameras, which were officially activated Jan. 1.
"It would certainly suit us if they were off," Triplett said.
But Weaver and Nelson said the US-11E cameras, which caught more than 1,660 violators in mere weeks and earned $150,000 in fees for Bluff City, should actually benefit BMS during the race weekend.
"We recently recorded someone driving 84 [mph] in that area," Weaver said.
"Now, isn’t it better for us to discourage someone from doing 84 in a 45 mile-per-hour zone, and killing an out-of-town race fan who’s pulling out one of the restaurants nearby," he said. "Could you imagine what kind of publicity that would be?"
Added Nelson: "Look, if people drive through that area at safe speeds, there’s going to be no problem during the race weekend. The cameras are up there for safety, whether it’s a race weekend or not."
rbrown@bristolnews.com (276) 645-2512
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