On the one hand, drivers in Wyoming should be applauded for obeying the law more (or at least, not getting caught) as speeding citations in the state were down by 15% in 2020.
On the other hand, those who did speed really sped. And a lot more often.
According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, there were 1,481 citations issued for drivers speeding in excess of 100-plus mph, which is a 29% increase from 2019.
Although the department didn’t offer a reason for the increase, it speculated it could have something to do with the pandemic.
There were definitely fewer vehicles on the road in 2020 as traffic in the state dropped by 6.5%.
The National Highway Safety Transportation Administration reported speeding by scofflaws across the country in 2020. And it wasn’t just your average hoodlum violating the rules of the road. Some lawbreakers are the ones entrusted with keeping the laws.
In Atlanta, a police officer who was supposed to be home in self-quarantine after coming down with COVID-19 was pulled over for driving 130 mph — twice the speed limit.
The Office of Traffic Safety in Minnesota reported that early on during the pandemic there was “half the traffic and twice as many fatalities.”
“We have more available lane space for drivers to use and abuse and people are really, really abusing,” the director of the office told the Washington Post.
And some people are more stupid than others. Take the 33-year-old Minnesota man who filmed himself driving his Lamborghini 213 mph in January. He went to jail after posting the video on YouTube.
Here in Wyoming, the highway patrol will join other western state law enforcement agencies in conducting an Excessive Speed Enforcement Safety campaign from June 25 – 27 in hopes of raising awareness of the dangers of excessive speed.
Scientists at Switzerland’s Dynamic Test Center report occupants have little chance of surviving a 100 mph car wreck. An episode of Mythbusters demonstrates why.
