Senate District 14 extends across the entire breadth of Delaware from the border with Maryland in the west to the Delaware River in the east and includes Smyrna, Clayton, Townsend, Odessa, Blackbird, and Leipsic, as well as parts of Middletown. (If you are not 100% sure whether you live in Senate District 14, you can search here using your address.) If you live in this district your choice on November 3 to represent you in the Delaware Senate is between the incumbent Senator Kyra Hoffner and her challenger Mark Pugh. Using a multiple choice format, we asked these two candidates to share their views on five statements related to traffic safety in Delaware. Mr. Pugh did not respond but Senator Hoffner’s answers are here:
1) I voted for, or agree with, the Truth in E-Bike Marketing Act (HS 1 for HB 439), which prohibits commercial sellers from advertising high-speed electric motorcycles using terms like “electric bicycle” or “e-bike” and requires clear written disclosures regarding a vehicle’s legal classification, power, and licensing requirements.
Hoffner: Strongly Agree
2) I voted for, or support, the recently passed HB 363, which allowed the default speed limit on streets in residential districts to be lowered to 20 mph.
Hoffner: Strongly Agree
3) Single-vehicle run-off-the-road crashes account for over a third of Delaware’s fatal crashes. To address this, I would support legislation complementing HB 363 that lowers the default speed limit on low-volume rural roads (e.g. “tar and chip” roads) below the current 50 mph threshold.
Hoffner: Strongly Agree
4) To further reduce traffic crashes on rural roadways, I support making Delaware’s rural road network more “self-explaining” using road surfaces and roadside design that convey a continuous visual message to drivers, providing more effective guidance than intermittent signage alone.
Hoffner: Strongly Agree
5) To reduce crashes at intersections, I support the use of single-lane urban roundabouts and engineering those roundabouts to be slow speed junctions, keeping vehicle speeds under 20 mph at all potential collision points.
Hoffner: Strongly Agree
6) Is there anything else about your record as an elected official, your experience or your views that you think is relevant to improving traffic safety in Delaware for the people you wish to represent in the 154th General Assembly?
Hoffner: I strongly support Bike Delaware’s work to make our communities safer and more connected. My approach to traffic safety is straightforward: everyone deserves to get home safely, whether they drive, walk, bike, or use a mobility device.
In the 154th General Assembly, I would support pairing sensible speed limits, some should be below 50mph, with road designs that reinforce those limits, safer crossings, and connected walking and bicycling routes. Rural communities deserve the same attention to safety as our towns and residential neighborhoods.
I would work with Bike Delaware, DelDOT, local governments, first responders, farmers, and residents to identify dangerous locations and pursue practical improvements. Traffic safety should be a shared responsibility, supported by clear rules, responsible enforcement, public education, and infrastructure that puts people first.
