Beginning today (Tuesday), the Iowa State Patrol and law enforcement agencies are launching a week-long traffic initiative aimed at reducing fatalities in Iowa caused by excessive speeding. District 4 Trooper and Public Resource Officer Shelby McCreedy says this latest effort stems from a July 1 crash that killed three teens in eastern Iowa. Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
According to McCreedy, excessive speed has been a major contributor to fatality crashes for decades, but it is becoming a more frequent occurrence. Tickets for speeds over 100 mph used to be issued once or twice per month, but McCreedy says it happens almost daily now.
As of Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 Iowa traffic fatalities stood at 249, five more than last year and nine over the five-year average. Just over half of the state’s traffic fatalities can be attributed to excessive speed, and McCreedy says there is little sign of that trend reversing on its own.
The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) special traffic enforcement program runs from Tuesday, Sept. 27 through Tuesday, Oct. 4. Law enforcement will be out in force over the next week putting a special emphasis on excessive speed.