KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Police Department traffic enforcement officers have reported writing more tickets in the last two weeks than the same time last year, according to police spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina.
Becchina said it's alarming due to the fact that there are far fewer cars on the roadways due to the city's stay-at-home order.
A recent tweet from the police department shows one example of the excessive speeding situations officers have witnessed.
Our goal is public safety. That's why we're still conducting traffic enforcement. With traffic lighter, we're seeing excessive speeding. One of our traffic officers said he's been working a 55 mph zone today & hasn't stopped a single person going less than 80 mph.
— Kansas City Police (@kcpolice) March 26, 2020
According to Becchina, some recently recorded speeding cases include 117 mph in a 55 mph zone; 95 mph in a 55 mph zone; and 125 mph in a 55 mph zone.
KCPD said that the speed limit is set in conjunction with the design of the road, so if drivers go more than double the speed limit, their ability to negotiate a turn or have the proper reaction time is cut in half.
The department is continuing to enforce traffic laws and adds that officers are continuing to practice safety themselves by sanitizing before and after every traffic stop.
We've talked about the issues with excessive speeding that have arisen from reduced traffic and why we're still doing enforcement. Just some of the tickets we issued last week are below. These are much higher than normal. Traffic officers are sanitizing before & after every stop. pic.twitter.com/Lq6FnCw01X
— Kansas City Police (@kcpolice) April 3, 2020
