ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – The death of 22-year-old Seth Truax last Sunday on Clemens Center Parkway is renewing concerns about speeding on the busy state road. Many people say cars regularly blow past the 40 mph speed limit. 18 News reporter Nicolas Dubina borrowed a radar gun from the Chemung County Sheriff to see just how fast some cars are going.

We clocked drivers at three different locations: near the Wegmans on Clemens & Division Street, Clemens & Gray Street, and Clemens & Water Street. Most cars did exceed the speed limit, but not by much. At Clemens & Division, we clocked just two cars going above 50 mph. Most vehicles were traveling in the mid 40 mph range. At Clemens & Water Street, we clocked two cars going at 51 mph. One of them could be heard flooring the gas to get behind an ambulance with its sirens on. Another car was clocked at 49 mph. Most other vehicles were going just above 40 mph.

New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show the number of traffic deaths in the U.S. declined slightly last year by 0.3%, from 42,939 to 42,795.

“A small bit of good news, a leveling off of the dramatic rise of fatalities that we’ve been seeing, particularly in the pandemic period,” said Polly Trottenberg, Deputy U.S. Secretary of Transportation. But overall, roadway fatalities in the United States are way too high. We still have a loss of life of nearly 43,000 people.

18 News has asked Elmira Police for updated statistics on the total number of crashes on Clemens Parkway, how many speeding tickets are issued each year, and how many DWI arrests are made. Police tell us they are gathering the information and should have it available soon.