Despite the coronavirus clampdown, it’s still mostly business as usual at the Nebraska State Patrol.
Troopers are still patrolling the road, still asking for your license and registration.
But they don’t ask the reason for your speeding, so they can only guess why they stopped six people pushing it past 100 mph Wednesday, and 28 since March 18.
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“I can make some assumptions,” said Capt. Jason Scott, commander of the Omaha-based Troop A. “Traffic is thinner, and there’s room to move and do some of these things?”
Or that the law has somehow lowered its guard?
“I get the feeling people are under the assumption we’re not working as hard as we were three weeks ago — and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
The patrol has the same staffing level on the road, which is why they’ve been able to pick off 100-mph drivers from border to border, three in Kimball County to the west, three in Douglas to the east — and nearly two dozen more in between.
Most have been on the interstate — though troopers stopped triple-digit travelers on slower roads in Dodge, Otoe and Scotts Bluff counties — and all have been passenger vehicles.
The fastest Nebraskan so far was driving a Toyota Avalon past Gretna on Monday, clocking in at 122 mph. The speeding ticket alone was $300, and that didn’t count his expired registration, patrol spokesman Cody Thomas said.
The number of 100-mph speeders they’ve stopped is more than double the total from the same time last year. But it’s not a clean comparison, Thomas said, because traffic 12 months ago was disrupted by statewide flooding.
It’s still concerning to Scott — as it should be to everyone on the road, he said.
“There’s definitely been some outrageous speeds lately. It’s not good. If you have one small problem at 105 — you blow a tire or you drop off the shoulder or whatever — you’re in some serious trouble, and so is everybody around you.”