State Police Nab 150MPH Speeder |
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Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
May 14, 2007
Three cheers for the Illinois State Police, District 2, headquartered in Elgin.
Today’s Northwest Herald reports that McHenry County is finally receiving traffic enforcement services!
I moved to Woodstock early in 1996 and in the fall began commuting to the Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates. On a daily basis I was immediately a target of aggressive drivers on Route 47 between Woodstock and Huntley, because I “poke along” at the posted speed limit. You can imagine the outrage of many drivers. “How dare that person just go the speed limit!!!”
The abuse got so bad that I designed a “ticket” form and faxed it to police departments after arriving at home in the evening. I would note the descriptions and license plates of the worst offenders, fill out the form, and fax it to Woodstock, Huntley, Algonquin, West Dundee, East Dundee and Hoffman Estates Police Departments. I would often fax 8-10 forms each work day.
I laughed one day, when I got home from work and found a message on my answering machine from a deputy with the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. His message? “Stop faxing us your reports. You are wasting paper and toner in our fax machine.” Did I stop? Of course not!!!
It was faster, more complete and more economical for them to receive my information in written form, plus it left a paper trail. My goal was to get them to pay more attention to the incidence of speeding, tailgating, illegal passing, aggressive driving and road rage.
The Illinois State Police ticketed a driver for 150MPH on Kishwaukee Valley Road, according to this morning’s Northwest Herald. Does anyone remember reading about this in the paper?
The Illinois State Police ticketed drivers at a 61.5% rate (2,000 tickets, 1,250 warnings). I have suggested they move this up to 95%. I’d like to see them spending more time on moving violations and less time on safety checks and seatbelt compliance.
How about you? How much over the speed limit do you drive? And why? What does “Speed Limit” mean to you? It’s not the minimum speed on a stretch of roadway…