According to a Radio Iowa news story, Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla says troopers have stopped motorists traveling at more than twice the posted speed limit on Iowa highways.
“Some of the speeds that we’ve actually tracked here: 164, 151, 142,” Dinkla says. “Those are actual speeds that everyday citizens, not in race cars, in ‘Plain Jane’ automobiles are driving and choosing to drive.”
Iowa State Troopers practice driving and stopping at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, but Dinkla says the patrol’s sedans — Dodge Chargers — would never drive 164 miles an hour during a chase.
“And so when people are driving that fast, that’s dangerous,” Dinkla says.
Dinkla made his comments on Iowa PBS during one of this month’s episodes of “Iowa Press.”
Last year, state troopers wrote more than 1,000 tickets to Iowa drivers clocked at speeds in excess of 100 mph.
A bill to significantly increase fines for excessive speeding has been introduced in the Iowa House by a lawmaker who is also a state trooper. Rep. Joshua Meggers of Grundy Center says he was patrolling a two-lane highway last summer when he stopped a driver traveling 103 mph.
Data compiled by the Legislative Services Agency indicate the Iowa State Patrol, along with Iowa police and sheriff’s departments, are likely to issue between 10,000 and 11,000 tickets this year to motorists driving at least 20 mph over the speed limit.
