The Bethel Village Council is hoping to clean up a dangerous and frustrating problem at the westernmost traffic light in town, where motorists attempting to beat traffic have caused numerous accidents in past weeks looping through parking lots to catch lights. The dangerous synchronized routine has caused frustration in the village, as well as injuries, and has the council baffled as to a solution.

“Our officers have been very busy in the evenings nabbing people who make illegal moves at CVS,” said councilwoman Donna Gunn. “Twice at least on my way into town I’ve seen them get people, and while they’re busy with one person, eight other people do the same move. We could probably have all four of our cars active there between 5 and 7 p.m. and haul them in.”

The move is simple. Motorists entering Bethel from the west have, instead of waiting in eastbound traffic, found two ways to avoid the line. The safer of the two involves cutting through the middle school parking lot to catch state Route 232 coming into town, allowing them to make a right turn at the light located in front of CVS to continue traveling east. The more serious of the two involves zooming past traffic while traveling in the left lane, which allows motorists to make a left-hand turn into the CVS, which trips the light and allows them to quickly turn around in the CVS parking lot and catch the outgoing light, giving them a clear left hand turn back onto eastbound state Route 125.