DETROIT – Since the start of the pandemic, Highways and roads emptied out. According to state and national data, for more than a few drivers that’s meant the race is on.
In just the last few weeks, Michigan Sate Police have written tickets for drivers going 95 mph, 100 mph, 120 mph, even as fast as 140 mph. Each of those speeds can be considered reckless driving and could land the driver in jail for up to three months and cost upwards of 500. Under state law there is no set speed for when law enforcement can begin writing tickets for reckless driving on speed alone. The threshold is a combination of speed, traffic and road conditions.
National traffic monitor at Inrix are reporting average speeds on Michigan highways during rush hours are up anywhere from 11 to 23 percent.
“Other people are actually testing that speed limit and doing 120 and that's not good for you at all. Troopers are out there. We're not taking the pandemic off,” MSP First Lt. Michael Shaw said.
Those testing the limits are why MSP troopers and local police are cracking down to put the brakes on excessive speeders hoping to avoid deadly consequences.
“If you get into a crash at triple digits, regardless of the safety equipment in your vehicle, the chance of you either seriously injuring yourself or somebody else or dying in that crash is pretty realistic,” Shaw said.
Law enforcement have also been writing more citations and tickets for noise violations as well, most linked to cars driving at excessive speeds. As more Michiganders are allowed back to work in the coming weeks and months, law enforcement is urging drivers to fall back into old driving habits as the roadways fill back up with drivers.