The Nebraska State Patrol started seeing an increase in people driving excessively fast in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That year, the State Patrol gave out 335 tickets for drivers who were going 100 mph or faster during a period from June 20 to Sept. 21. In the four years leading up to 2020, the patrol never gave out more than 200 citations for driving 100 mph or more during that same period, said Cody Thomas, the patrol’s public information officer.
“We started seeing that it really lined up with COVID,” Thomas said. “It really coincided with there being less traffic on the road.”
But while the COVID-19 pandemic went away, the trend of extremely high speeds did not.
After dropping off in 2021 and 2022, the number of drivers going over 100 mph started to increase in 2023. That year, the State Patrol issued 343 tickets to drivers going at least 100 mph during the summer. Last year, that number rose to 349. And this summer, the State Patrol gave out 354 tickets for driving 100 mph or more, the most in a decade.
On Sept. 3, an increase in speeding fines went into effect.
Thomas said it will take more time to analyze whether the increased speeding fines will cause drivers to slow down.
“It's still probably a little too early to see any trends or any changes, or anything like that,” Thomas said.
The highest speed recorded this summer was 165 mph on U.S. Highway 83 in Lincoln County, Thomas said. The speed limit on the highway in that area is 65 mph. With the new fines, driving 36 miles or more above the speed limit would result in a $400 fine.
“The fine is one thing, and that's hopefully a deterrent for some people,” Thomas said. “But just understanding that you're sharing the road with so many other people out there and that your actions can have an impact not just on the safety of your own travel, but everyone else on the road too."