Personal speedway? Speeders exploit near-empty interstates during the pandemic
Some drivers are treating near-empty interstates as their personal speedways during the coronavirus pandemic.
Because the highways have been far less crowded, the overall number of drivers cited for speeding is correspondingly down, North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper Ray Pierce told The Charlotte Observer.
Yet the number of drivers reaching “extremely high speeds” is up in the Charlotte region, he said. The problem is happening on Interstates 85, 485, 77 and 40.
Troopers began encountering more drivers at higher speeds on the interstates in mid-March, Pierce said.In recent weeks, traffic volume has been down up to 50% in cities across North Carolina.
After government COVID-19 stay-at-home orders began in March, speeding worsened and troopers issued public alerts urging drivers to slow down, he said. Troopers have seen more drivers reaching speeds of 100 mph and greater, according to the trooper.
A driver recently stopped by the State Highway Patrol on Interstate 85 at the New Hope Road exit in Gastonia was clocked at 122 mph, according to Pierce.
While working I-485 and I-85 during one stretch over the past two months, Pierce said, he noticed a greater number of drivers in their late 50s and early 60s he cited for speeding.
That’s atypical, he said, as drivers stopped for speeding are usually far younger.
One driver, a woman from Georgia, was clocked at 94 mph, Pierce said.
The problem has lessened only by “a little bit” in the past two weeks, as more drivers venture out, he said.
Interstate speeding during COVID
Troopers in counties to the north and northwest of Mecklenburg have seen a similar uptick, Master Trooper Jeffrey Swagger of Newton-based Troop F told the Observer in an email Friday.
“I don’t have a percentage, but I can say troopers in our area have been regularly citing drivers at speeds of 95 mph and higher on the interstates, and often more than 20 mph over the speed limit on other highways,” according to Swagger.
“While there has been an obvious decrease in traffic volume, there has also been an increase in the frequency of extremely high speeds,” he said.
Speeding a problem nationwide
Law enforcement officers in other states also report problems with speeders.
Maryland State Police have focused efforts on citing drivers for speeding and aggressive driving on the Capital Beltway, MSN.com reported.
On one stretch of the Beltway from April 26 through May 1, police cited 155 drivers for speeding, including 31 at 91 mph to 99 mph and nine at 100 mph or greater, according to MSN.com.
Speeders have been a problem during the pandemic nationwide, “Car and Driver” magazine reported.
“Speeders, Drag Racers Behaving Badly in Pandemic, Tempted by Empty Streets,” read a headline in the magazine, which cited cases from California to New York.
Efforts to stop speeders
Swagger’s Newton-based Troop F covers a wide territory, from Iredell, Lincoln and Catawba counties to Watauga and several other mountain counties.
Its troopers, he said, have focused enforcement efforts on interstates and U.S. and N.C. routes “to curtail speeding and cite those who have taken advantage of the open roads by driving at dangerous speeds.”
The severity of collisions has increased, too, he said, while the overall number of collisions decreased.
At 7:30 p.m. last Thursday, for instance, a 42-year-old driver died on Interstate 77 about 10 miles north of Statesville when he veered off the highway, hit a culvert and was thrown from his pickup truck, which overturned several times, according to a State Highway Patrol news release.
The driver, from Moore County, was not wearing a seatbelt, troopers said. He appeared to have been speeding and in some way distracted, according to the release.
On Friday, Swagger told the Observer: “Along with many other precautions the public has been asked to comply with during this pandemic, we also ask drivers to slow down to keep themselves and other motorists safe.”