DES MOINES, Iowa - The state's kicking off an awareness campaign during the holiday weekend to curb excessive speeding on Iowa roadways during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Public Safety says a dangerous pattern has emerged, with troopers routinely clocking speeds at certain times as high as 121 to 155 mph on less congested roadways.
Data from the the Iowa State Patrol shows a 65 percent increase in speeding tickets for driving 25 mph or more above the speed limit in the first six months of 2020.
The data shows the most common speeding violators are men at or under the age of 29.
The highest rate of speeding violations is occurring on Saturday afternoons, when nearly a third of the tickets issued are for speeds over 100 mph.
The Patrol’s data shows that 60 percent of the speeding tickets are being issued to out-of-state drivers. Neighboring states are also experiencing patterns of excessive speeding, with Minnesota and Missouri seeing a spike fatality crash rates.
“These traffic trends are alarming and unprecedented,” said Iowa State Patrol Commander Colonel Nathan Fulk. “High speeds are not only making our Iowa roadways less safe on a daily basis for all of us, but speeding is one of the leading contributing factors in fatality crashes. We need motorists to understand that this type of driving behavior is not the new normal.”