Utah Highway Patrol Troopers Cracking Down On Speeding
Dec 12, 2019, 8:20 PM | Updated: 10:34 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The last big snowstorm on the Wasatch Front led to chaos on the roads and more than 900 crashes during Thanksgiving week. The following week, officials at the Utah Highway Patrol said speeding had gotten out of control and they would be cracking down for the sake of safety.
UHP troopers said drivers just haven’t been slowing down, so they are tightening up speed enforcement statewide.
“We really want people to be safe. That’s our main goal,” said trooper A.J. Nelson, who had already stopped a dozen drivers for speeding Thursday morning.
Most of those speeders he pulled over were going under 80 mph and Nelson said he used to not issue any tickets at that point. Now, he does.
“I get to talk to them,” he said. “Like, hey guys, winter snow is coming, you can’t be doing this. I know this is your normal. But you have to slow it down.”
UHP officials said any kind of mythical five or 10 mph cushion above the posted speed limit was gone and troopers have been enforcing it this week.
Nelson said all troopers are having more conversations with more drivers about speeding because the average flow of traffic is five to 10 mph over the limit, which is too dangerous in dicey conditions.
Winter weather blasted Utah on Black Friday, and UHP Lieutenant Danny Allen said he had never felt as scared while out on the roads as he did that night.
“I was pretty much the most scared I’ve been in my career,” said Allen, who has worked with UHP for 17 years.
He was scared that he would get hit by speeding motorists in slushy and icy conditions as he sat in his patrol car on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.
Drivers were scared that night, too, and that’s why officials said everyone needs to obey the speed limit.
“Speed limits are absolute,” Allen said. “Anything over that speed limit, whether it’s 70, or 80 in rural areas, anything over that you’re at risk of being stopped by police.”
UHP troopers said they’re not doing this to write more tickets – they’re enforcing speeds that are posted because they are safe speeds. When snow arrives, everyone needs to slow down and drive within the limitations of the conditions.
Troopers still have discretion for writing tickets, but they may be too busy chasing somebody who’s doing 20 miles per hour over the speed limit to pull over a motorist who is doing five over. But their message was clear: troopers are reigning in the speeds.
“Most people have heard about it,” Nelson said. Nearly everyone he stopped knew about the crackdown. Others, he noticed, may already be slowing down.
“I’ve noticed today, people are staying behind me,” he said. “They’re watching more than usual. People aren’t passing me.”
RELATED: UHP Asks Drivers To Slow Down In Lehi After 5,000+ Speeding Stops
