NC is cracking down on speeders this week: Limits are the law, not just suggestions

Drive on any street, road or highway in North Carolina, and drivers exceeding the speed limit often outnumber those who aren’t.

This week, the N.C. State Highway Patrol and local police and sheriff’s departments across the state say they will remind drivers that speed limits are the law, not just suggestions. They promise stepped up enforcement of speed limits in all 100 counties from July 22 through July 26.

“Each day across our state, first responders see needless collisions that cause damage, serious injury and the loss of life,” Col. Freddy Johnson Jr., the Highway Patrol’s commander, said in a news conference Monday. “Often times the contributing circumstance is shown to be speed, a completely avoidable decision made by the driver of the motor vehicle.”

An estimated 168 people have been killed in speed-related crashes in North Carolina so far this year, said Mark Ezzell, director of the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program . Speed reduces reaction time for drivers and increases the severity of the impact in a crash, Ezzell says, and it’s a factor in more than 1 in 5 fatal crashes in the state.

‘Pretty atrocious driving behavior’

Johnson said state troopers tend to focus on the most “clear-cut and substantial” speeders. Unfortunately, he said, they’re not hard to find.

“We’re seeing some pretty atrocious driving behavior out there,” he said in an interview. “It’s nothing for me to see reports from troopers where cars are running 146, 160 mph. I’ve seen one as high as 200 mph. We’re dealing with some extreme driving behavior.”

It’s not just highways where speeding gets people in trouble.

Raleigh police investigators say it appears Jacob Widelski was exceeding the 35 mph speed limit on Wade Avenue last week when he lost control of his motorcycle in a curve and crossed a low median into oncoming traffic , said Deputy Chief Rico Boyce. Widelski, 21, fell from his Honda Fury and was killed.

Capital Boulevard is like ‘Charlotte Motor Speedway’

Boyce said speeding is a common problem on thoroughfares such as Glenwood Avenue, Creedmoor Road and Six Forks Road, where the speed limit is 45 mph.

“I always equate Capital Boulevard to Charlotte Motor Speedway,” Boyce said in an interview. “But when you speed on a road like Capital Boulevard, with the volume of traffic, you put a lot of people and lives in danger because the road is just so congested.”

The fines for speeding in North Carolina are relatively low , starting at $10 for going up to 5 mph over the speed limit. There are special fines of $250 for speeding in school and work zones. Going 15 mph or more over the limit above 55 mph, or going above 80 mph, is a Class 3 misdemeanor, which comes with a fine of up to $200 and a criminal record.

But even the most modest speeding ticket brings mandatory court costs of $192, regardless of whether you contest the ticket in court. And speeding tickets can result in higher car insurance rates and, if done repeatedly, the suspension of your driver’s license.